Orange has secured a multi-year partnership with OpenAI, becoming the first European telecom operator to gain direct access to OpenAI’s advanced AI models. Steve Jarrett, Orange’s Group Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, confirmed the collaboration on Wednesday, emphasizing its potential to transform the company’s digital services.
Orange’s multi-year agreement with OpenAI provides it with a set of unique benefits. These include access to pre-release versions of the most advanced AI models. “OpenAI’s models are among the most widely used globally, making this partnership strategically and financially sound for us,” Jarrett said. He also mentioned the fact that it could influence OpenAI’s developmental roadmap, a privilege tied to this exclusive agreement.
Currently, over 50,000 Orange employees utilize OpenAI’s AI tools. This partnership ensures these models operate from secure infrastructure located within Europe, addressing data protection concerns.
Collaboration beyond Europe as Orange signs a multi-year partnership with OpenAI
Orange’s multi-year partnership with OpenAI extends its impact to global initiatives. On Tuesday, the telecom giant announced a collaboration with OpenAI and Meta to translate regional African languages. Data samples in Wolof and Pular will be shared to enhance training for Meta’s Llama and OpenAI’s Whisper language models.
These AI-powered tools will be instrumental in customer care support for users across linguistically different regions. Orange also aims to distribute these tools to universities, governments, and startups in a move to promote technological inclusion across Africa.
Jarrett emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership, indicating that the move would further Orange’s capacities to capitalize on AI to enhance efficiency and achieve untapped markets. OpenAI is one of the top state-of-the-art technologies Orange would collaborate with, bringing Orange into a leading role in the field of AI in telecoms.
Orange’s multi-year partnership with OpenAI reflects a broader shift toward integrating artificial intelligence into core telecom operations. It sets a precedent for the industry in Europe and beyond, ensuring competitive advantage and societal benefits alike.
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