Key Moments
- Alphabet Inc’s Google and Sea Ltd entered a strategic partnership to develop AI tools for Shopee and Garena.
- The companies will jointly explore an AI agentic shopping prototype for Shopee’s e-commerce platform.
- Google and Garena plan to apply AI solutions to enhance productivity in game development.
AI Partnership Targeting E-commerce and Gaming
JAKARTA, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google and Southeast Asia-focused technology group Sea Ltd have agreed to a new strategic collaboration that will introduce artificial intelligence capabilities across Sea’s core e-commerce and gaming businesses.
In a joint statement, the companies said the partnership is designed to build and deploy AI tools within Shopee, Sea’s flagship online marketplace, and Garena, its digital entertainment arm.
Agentic AI Shopping Prototype for Shopee
As part of the agreement, Google and Sea will work together to “explore the building of an AI agentic shopping prototype” on Shopee. The initiative focuses on embedding more advanced AI-driven functions into the shopping experience on the platform.
The collaboration aligns with broader efforts by large technology companies to commercialize AI models by extending their use cases beyond basic question-and-answer interactions to more complex tasks, such as facilitating shopping across multiple applications and handling sophisticated workflows.
Competitive AI Developments in Southeast Asian E-commerce
The AI push by Google and Sea comes amid intensifying competition in Southeast Asia’s online retail sector. China’s Alibaba, whose Lazada platform operates as a rival to Shopee in the region, recently introduced a new AI model that it characterized as being built “for the agentic AI era.”
Shopee’s Market Position
Shopee held a leading position in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce landscape with a 52% market share in 2024, according to a report from consultancy Momentum Works.
| Platform | Region | Market Share (2024) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopee | Southeast Asia | 52% | Momentum Works report |
AI Integration in Game Development
Beyond e-commerce, Google and Sea intend to leverage AI to upgrade operations within Sea’s gaming division. Both companies said that Google and Sea’s gaming unit Garena will use AI solutions to “transform” the productivity of game development.
Building on Existing Collaboration with YouTube
The newly announced AI initiatives expand on earlier cooperation between the companies. The partnerships follow a 2024 tie-up between Shopee and Alphabet’s YouTube in the Southeast Asian e-commerce market.
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