Consumer internet company, Glance and Google Cloud have entered into a strategic partnership to bring the power of generative AI (gen AI) to millions of Glance-enabled smartphones worldwide by leveraging Google’s AI models to develop consumer-facing AI applications designed to enhance and enrich user experiences on smartphone lock screens and ambient TV screens.
Glance, a pioneer in delivering AI-powered smart lock screen experiences, currently powers more than 450 million Android-based smartphones worldwide, with the company having an active user base of more than 300 million across India, Indonesia, Japan, the United States, and other countries.
That said, the company is now building the next generation of Glance, which aims to turn every user’s lock screen into the center of their digital experiences, integrating their news, sports, games, entertainment, fashion, and shopping with gen AI to create a ‘personal internet’ for the user.
Hence, as a result of this strategic partnership, Glance will leverage Google Cloud’s Gemini intelligence capabilities and Imagen’s state of the art image generation capabilities via Vertex AI to power Glance’s next-gen experiences.
One of the first experiences is an immersive, gen AI-enabled commerce feature for the lock screen. This feature allows users to upload a single image (selfie or upload from gallery), which is then analyzed to infer their interests and preferences. Users can then use gen AI to generate personalized images that place them in relevant contexts, transforming their lock screen wallpapers. As users visualize themselves with various products, they can make real-time purchase decisions seamlessly from their lock screens.
“Our mission at Glance is to inspire users to become the best version of themselves through discovery-led experiences on surfaces powered by AI. We want to be the world’s largest consumer tech platform, reaching a billion screens by 2028, and our partnership with Google Cloud is key,” said Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO of InMobi & Glance.
“Our combined knowledge, AI capabilities, and expertise uniquely position Glance to deliver the next level of AI-driven experiences for smartphone users, supported by viable business models such as commerce and advertising,” he added.
The partnership comes as Glance prepares to launch ‘Glance AI,’ a gen AI-powered platform designed to deliver immersive discovery experiences on both smartphone lock screens and TV ambient screens. To be launched in the U.S. market first, Glance AI aims to supercharge ordinary smartphones into AI phones through experiences that redefine content and commerce.
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud added, “Generative AI technologies have the power to transform experiences for people around the world, and mobile phones are a key touchpoint. Glance can now harness Google Cloud’s cutting-edge gen AI technologies to develop groundbreaking applications across commerce, content, and more that will unlock new possibilities for customers.”
Launched in 2019, Glance is one of the earliest to unlock the potential of the smartphone lock screen, providing unique AI-driven personalized content discovery experiences. The Glance smart lock screen is delivered in partnership with OEMs and telcos. All functions are customizable, opt-in, and do not access user data, while maintaining user privacy. The platform relies on usage patterns to continually refine its recommendation engine and provide the best-in-class experience to the consumers.
