IBM Releases New AI Models for Businesses as GenAI Competition Heats up

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of IBM logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of IBM logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
20

IBM Releases New AI Models for Businesses as GenAI Competition Heats up

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of IBM logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of IBM logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)

IBM released the latest version of its artificial intelligence models catered towards businesses on Monday, looking to capitalize on the surge in enterprises adopting generative AI technology.

"Granite 3.0" models will be made open-source, similar to other versions in IBM's Granite family of AI models. This approach differs from rivals such as Microsoft that charge customers for access to their models.

In turn, IBM offers a paid tool called Watsonx that helps run models inside data centers after they have been customized.

Some variants of the new Granite models are available starting Monday for commercial use on the Watsonx platform. A selection of these models will also be available on Nvidia's stack of software tools that enable businesses to incorporate AI models.

The new Granite models were trained using AI chip leader Nvidia's H100 graphics processor units (GPUs), said Dario Gil, IBM's director of research.



Google Hopes to Reach Gemini Deal with Apple this Year

FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
TT
20

Google Hopes to Reach Gemini Deal with Apple this Year

FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo

Google hopes to enter an agreement with Apple by the middle of this year to include its Gemini AI technology on new phones, CEO Sundar Pichai said in testimony at an antitrust trial in Washington on Wednesday.
Pichai testified in the Alphabet unit's defense against proposals by the US Department of Justice which include ending lucrative deals with Apple, Samsung, AT&T and Verizon to be the default search engine on new mobile devices, Reuters reported.
During questioning by DOJ attorney Veronica Onyema, Pichai said that while Google does not yet have an agreement with Apple to include its Gemini AI on iPhones, Pichai spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the possibility last year.
A potential deal this year would see Google's Gemini AI included within Apple Intelligence, Apple's own set of AI features, Pichai said.
Google also plans to experiment with including ads in its Gemini app, Pichai said.
Prosecutors have sought to illustrate how Google could extend its dominance in online search to AI. Google maintained its monopoly in part by paying billions of dollars to wireless carriers and smartphone manufacturers, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year.
The judge is now weighing what actions Google should take to restore competition. The outcome of the case could fundamentally reshape the internet by potentially unseating Google as the go-to portal for information online.
The DOJ and a broad coalition of state attorneys general are pressing for remedies including requiring Google to sell off its Chrome web browser, banning it from paying to be the default search engine and requiring it to share search data with competitors.
The data-sharing provisions would discourage Google from investing in research and development, Pichai testified on Wednesday.
Provisions that would require the company to share its search index and search query data are "extraordinary," and amount to a "defacto divestiture of our IP related to search," Pichai said.
"It would be trivial to reverse engineer and effectively build Google search from the outside," he said.
That would make it "unviable to invest in R&D the way we have for the past two decades," Pichai added.
Google has said it plans to appeal once the judge makes a final ruling.