A new enterprise assurance venture, AURÄI, has officially introduced its platform at the 30th anniversary gathering of the ISACA Lagos Chapter, providing organizations with tools to supervise, regulate, and validate artificial intelligence systems as operational rollouts outpace institutional oversight.
Announcing the launch on the second day of the event at Victoria Island’s Oriental Hotel, founder and chief executive officer Olayinka James cautioned that companies are deploying algorithmic models that influence workforce dynamics, client experiences, and pivotal corporate determinations without sufficient safeguards in place.
Addressing an audience of risk managers, internal auditors, and cybersecurity experts, James highlighted that while 88% of enterprises employ AI in at least one division and 93% of internal audit departments rely on it to some extent, just 38% have formulated a dedicated audit approach. Similarly, only 38% have enacted comprehensive usage policies for the AI applications their employees actively utilize. He noted that an average corporate network now harbors upwards of 150 unauthorized AI utilities completely invisible to internal IT departments.
James emphasized the stark disparity between implementation and assurance, observing that financial firms deploy models for underwriting and fraud prevention while startups release products on foundational models faster than regulators can analyze them. The critical divergence from past technological shifts, he argued, is that modern systems do not simply record transactions—they autonomously determine outcomes in lending, benefits, and identification across broad populations.
Drawing a historical comparison, James likened the current landscape to the post-Enron fallout of the early 2000s that precipitated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and established the certified IT auditor profession. He described the present wave of model vulnerabilities, high-profile lab developments, and rapid legislative responses—including sweeping California compliance mandates and federal oversight commitments—as an “AI SOX moment” destined to foster an entirely new discipline centered on AI assurance.
To address this systemic exposure, AURÄI merges specialized software agents with human verification. The platform automates system mapping, regulatory evidence gathering, control evaluation, policy creation, and audit logging. Rather than letting automated agents make unverified assumptions, the software operates within strict limits and routes complex anomalies to accredited human professionals for assessment, challenge, and sign-off.
Beyond the core software, the company provides training and credentials for professionals tasked with operating and supervising these automated governance workflows. James noted that the concept stems from his two decades directing cybersecurity and internal audit programs at major corporations such as Deloitte, PwC, Citigroup, GE Digital, and Zimmer Biomet, where he observed that organizational governance issues rarely arose from deficient guidelines, but rather from fragmented execution.
The company is steered by a leadership team spanning audit, technology, and capital markets. Alongside James, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Mohammed Mijindadi brings extensive executive experience from GE Nigeria, GE Vernova Gas Power, and infrastructure dealmaking across Africa. Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer Chris Kanwei, founder of RealCorp Capital and a former institutional investment manager at Aviva and Morgan Stanley, directs capitalization and financial strategy.
With emerging global frameworks such as the EU AI Act setting strict mandates for human oversight and risk management, AURÄI is opening access to financial institutions, fintechs, and enterprise partners seeking to pilot the governance platform via a waitlist on its official website.
