Google limits Meta’s use of its Gemini AI models

Google has put limits on Meta’s use of its Gemini AI ​models after the social media company sought more ‌computing capacity than the rival tech group could provide.

Google, owned by Alphabet, told Meta around March ​it could not meet the full Gemini capacity the ​company had sought to purchase, the newspaper said, ⁠adding that the shortfall disrupted and delayed some of ​Meta’s internal AI projects.

Several other Google clients have also been ​affected, though to a lesser extent, according to the report. Meta has been particularly impacted due to its exceptionally high demand for Google’s ​models.

Reuters could not immediately verify the ​report, which cited people familiar with the matter. Google and Meta did ‌not ⁠immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.

Due to the restrictions, Meta has encouraged staff to be more efficient with AI tokens, the units that measure AI usage, ​the FT report ​said.

Even as ⁠companies continue to spend billions on chips and data centres, they are still struggling to ​secure enough computing power to support the growing ​demand ⁠for AI services.

Revenue at Google Cloud grew to $20 billion in the first quarter ended March, but CEO Sundar Pichai said computing ⁠power ​constraints prevented even higher growth and ​contributed to the cloud unit’s backlog nearly doubling quarter on quarter.