Alphabet's Google and Southeast Asian technology group Sea Ltd announced a new partnership on Thursday to develop artificial intelligence tools for Sea's e-commerce and gaming businesses. In a joint statement, the companies indicated that under the newly signed strategic cooperation agreement, they will collaborate to explore and create AI-powered shopping prototype products on Sea's e-commerce platform Shopee. This collaboration reflects a broader trend where global technology companies are attempting to commercialize their AI models, moving beyond simple question-and-answering functions to expand into more complex tasks such as cross-application shopping and intricate workflow management. Shopee, which competes in Southeast Asia with Alibaba's Lazada, sees this partnership emerge as Alibaba itself launched a new AI model earlier this week, describing it as built for the era of agent AI. According to a report from consultancy Momentum Works, Shopee held the highest market share among e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia in 2024, accounting for 52% of the market. Google will also partner with Sea's gaming unit Garena to utilize AI solutions aimed at revolutionizing game development efficiency. Prior to this collaboration, Shopee had already established a partnership with Alphabet's YouTube in the Southeast Asian e-commerce market in 2024.