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Vodafone, Google Deepen AI Ties Across Europe, Africa

FILE PHOTO: Vodafone's logo is displayed, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vodafone's logo is displayed, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo
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Vodafone, Google Deepen AI Ties Across Europe, Africa

FILE PHOTO: Vodafone's logo is displayed, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vodafone's logo is displayed, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo

Britain's Vodafone said on Tuesday it has deepened its strategic partnership with Alphabet's Google in a ten-year, billion dollar plus deal that will bring the US tech giant's new generative AI-powered devices to customers across Europe and Africa.
According to Reuters, Vodafone said it would expand access to Google's artificial intelligence-powered Pixel devices with its 5G network in Europe and would continue promoting the Android ecosystem.
Global technology companies are competing to lure customers to upgrade their phones using new generative AI features, with the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung offering a suite of visual, text and audio features powered by AI.
Vodafone will offer Google One AI Premium subscription plans, which include Gemini Advanced, in certain countries by 2025, it said.
Vodafone will also use Google Cloud's enterprise-ready AI platform as part of the expanded partnership.
Google is in an AI race with companies such as OpenAI, which is backed by the likes of Microsoft and NVIDIA .

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Official: DeepSeek Success Shows China's 'Ability to Innovate'

FILE PHOTO: The DeepSeek app is seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The DeepSeek app is seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Official: DeepSeek Success Shows China's 'Ability to Innovate'

FILE PHOTO: The DeepSeek app is seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The DeepSeek app is seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The shock entrance of DeepSeek in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence has put the world on notice as to China's innovation prowess, a high-ranking Beijing official said Thursday.

The startup released a new version of its AI chatbot in January, sending shockwaves across global markets.

DeepSeek wowed industry insiders with its apparent ability to rival or even surpass the capabilities of Western competitors like ChatGPT at a fraction of the cost.

"DeepSeek has stood out in the global field of AI," said Wu Qing, Chairman of China's Securities Regulatory Commission.

"It is not just that the field of AI has been deeply shocked, but now also the world and the financial community have a new understanding of China's ability to innovate in science and technology," he said.

The official added that DeepSeek had contributed to a "recent re-evaluation of Chinese assets".

"If someone does not talk about DeepSeek these days, it seems that they're not fashionable," Wu said.

"But this phenomenon is indeed worthy of our high attention."

Recent weeks have seen shares in Chinese tech titans surge.

Last month, long-shunned Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma was seen meeting President Xi Jinping at a business symposium -- signaling a more welcoming stance from Beijing towards its domestic tech sector.

Alibaba's shares rose more than eight percent during Thursday trading in Hong Kong after it unveiled an AI model with a performance it said was "comparable" to DeepSeek.

Investors are watching for announcements this week from Beijing -- where officials are convening for a key annual political event known as the "Two Sessions" -- on further government support to boost innovation and spending.

Wu's comments came during a press conference on China's economy, which has struggled to fully recover from the pandemic.

Authorities are banking on advanced technology as a lifeline to reach official growth targets this year as heightened trade winds batter the export-dependent nation.