Google releases 'open' AI models after Meta

Google on Wednesday released new artificial intelligence (AI) models that outside developers could potentially fashion as their own, following a similar move by Meta Platforms and others.

The Alphabet subsidiary said individuals and businesses can build AI software based on its new family of "open models" called Gemma for free. It also said the company is making key technical data, such as what are called model weights, publicly available. The move may attract software engineers to build on Google's technology, encourage usage of its newly profitable cloud division, and the models are "optimized" for Google Cloud, said by the company.