Two Afghan Brothers Win Global AI Competition in France
Two Afghan brothers, both refugees, have won first place in one of the world’s most prestigious artificial intelligence competitions held in France, thanks to their innovative software project.
Ahmad Zia Yousufi and Ahmad Zamir Yousufi, along with three international teammates, secured the top prize in the “Qualcomm AI Track” at the global competition Raise Your Hack with their project titled SignBridge. According to participants, this track is considered the most technically demanding and competitive part of the event.
The Raise Your Hack global hackathon, hosted by the international platforms Lablab.ai and RISE Summit, was held from July 3 to 7 in France. The event brought together more than 6,200 participants, organized into over 900 teams from across the world.
The winning project, SignBridge, is an advanced real-time speech-to-sign-language translation tool that works fully offline, without the need for an internet connection. This innovative tool helps facilitate communication between hearing and Deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and is particularly useful in low-connectivity environments.
Ahmad Zia Yousufi, the lead developer of the team, wrote in a LinkedIn post:
"We wanted to build something impactful, inclusive, and usable in the real world — and we’re proud of what we achieved in just four days."
The SignBridge team included members from diverse national backgrounds, and their success stands as a symbol of cross-cultural collaboration and the talent of migrants in the tech world.
The aim of this competition was to develop innovative and practical ideas using artificial intelligence and specific technologies defined by the organizers — with the goal of solving real-world problems in society.
