Alphabet Inc's Google and Sea Ltd announced on Thursday a strategic collaboration to develop artificial intelligence capabilities for Sea's e-commerce and gaming businesses.
According to a joint statement, the companies will work together to "explore the building of an AI agentic shopping prototype" for Shopee, Sea's online marketplace. The initiative is framed as part of a broader push by major technology firms to find commercial pathways for AI models that go beyond answering questions, enabling them to carry out a wider array of tasks - from facilitating purchases across multiple apps to coordinating complex workflows.
Sea's gaming arm, Garena, is also included in the partnership. The two firms said they will deploy AI-driven solutions aimed at transforming productivity in game development, positioning the technology as a tool to speed or streamline parts of the creative and production process.
The announcement arrives as competition over AI capabilities intensifies in the region. Alibaba, which operates the Lazada e-commerce platform that competes with Shopee in Southeast Asia, released a new AI model earlier this week that it characterised as being built "for the agentic AI era." The companies did not provide technical specifications or a detailed timeline for the Shopee prototype in their statement, noting that the work will be exploratory.
Shopee remains a dominant player in the Southeast Asian e-commerce market. A report by consultancy Momentum Works cited Shopee as holding a 52% market share in the region in 2024.
The new tie-up follows earlier collaborations between Shopee and Alphabet entities. The two companies cited a 2024 partnership between Shopee and YouTube as a prior example of cooperation in the Southeast Asian e-commerce market.
The Google-Sea statement emphasises joint exploration rather than finalised products, reflecting the experimental nature of the effort as the companies assess how agentic AI features might be integrated into shopping journeys and game development workflows.
Context and implications
- Both consumer-facing commerce experiences and behind-the-scenes game production are targeted for AI-enabled improvements.
- The collaboration forms part of a wider industry trend to monetise AI by expanding capabilities beyond conversational responses.
- Competition in Southeast Asia's AI-enabled commerce space is evident, with regional rivals also introducing agentic-oriented models.
Separately, some market commentary included a prompt asking whether GOOGL represents a bargain opportunity for investors, reflecting ongoing investor interest in Alphabet's valuation and AI strategy.