Google curbs Meta’s access to Gemini AI capacity, FT reports

WASHINGTON: Google has limited Meta’s use of its Gemini artificial intelligence models after the Facebook parent sought more computing capacity than the company could supply, according to a Financial Times report carried on Sunday.

Google, which is owned by Alphabet, informed Meta around March that it would not be able to provide the full Gemini capacity Meta wanted to buy. According to the newspaper, the shortfall disrupted and delayed some of Meta’s internal AI projects.

The Financial Times also reported that other Google customers have been affected by the capacity constraints, though to a lesser degree. Meta was said to be hit more heavily because of its unusually large demand for Google’s AI models.

Reuters said it 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.

The restrictions have led Meta to ask employees to use AI tokens more efficiently. Tokens are the units used to measure AI usage.

The development comes as major technology companies continue to invest billions of dollars in chips and data centres while still facing difficulty securing enough computing power to meet rising demand for AI services. In the first quarter ended March, Google Cloud revenue rose to $20 billion. However, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said limits on computing power prevented stronger growth and helped push the cloud division’s backlog to nearly double from the previous quarter.