Liberty Global and Google Cloud Announce Five-Year Strategic AI Partnership

Liberty Global and Google Cloud have announced a five-year strategic partnership that will accelerate Liberty Global’s digital transformation and embed AI at scale throughout its European operations.

Under the new partnership, Liberty Global customers stand to benefit directly from new services, devices, and TV experiences built with Google’s Gemini models. With approximately 80 million connections across its European telecoms operations*, Liberty Global will collaborate with Google Cloud on AI-first initiatives to boost its network scalability, security, data sovereignty, and cost efficiencies. The two companies will also explore opportunities to run Google Cloud services within Liberty Global´s data centers to serve excess customer demand.

The collaboration also consolidates and significantly expands existing work between the two companies, including businesses from Liberty’s Growth and Services portfolios such as Atlas Edge, Formula E, and Liberty Blume. For example, Formula E recently announced that Google Cloud is now “Principal Partner” and “Official AI Partner” of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, underscoring its deepening commitment to Formula E and accelerating innovation across the series.

The partnership focuses on three strategic priorities:

• AI-driven customer value: The collaboration combines the power of Google Cloud’s AI technologies with Liberty Global’s end customers via its trusted consumer-facing core brands—Virgin Media O2 in the UK, Telenet in Belgium, VodafoneZiggo in The Netherlands and Virgin Media in Ireland – as well as Sunrise in Switzerland. Gemini models are being integrated into Liberty Global’s Horizon TV platform, making content search and discovery smarter and more conversational, and will extend into care channels to improve responsiveness and first-contact resolution. The parties will also explore opportunities for Liberty Global to offer Google products and services, such as Pixel phones and watches, smart home devices and Google Home Premium, Chromebooks, and YouTube Premium for its customers, with Liberty Global’s operating companies expected to launch their own smart home offerings over time.
• Cloud optimization: Liberty Global and Google Cloud will work together on AI-first programs to improve telecom system and network scalability, security, and data sovereignty and drive cost efficiencies. Liberty Global will work with Google Cloud to accelerate the development of autonomous network operations – proactively detecting performance issues, executing corrective actions and reducing manual interventions – to improve customer service quality and reliability. The parties will also explore opportunities to optimize use of capacity across Liberty Global’s network and identify potential opportunities to unlock additional data center capacity for Google Cloud, including through Liberty Global’s Atlas Edge joint venture.
• New growth opportunities: The two parties will collaborate to unlock growth opportunities in the SME market, with Liberty Global working with Google Cloud on go-to-market initiatives to drive sales of Google, third-party, and its own solutions for SMEs, including a portfolio of offerings in cloud, cybersecurity, and AI services. Liberty Global will also explore potential data monetization initiatives to unlock the value of its telco data, whilst prioritizing security and data privacy. Additional areas of potential collaboration include Formula E brand activations and Liberty Blume’s digitization solutions, all designed to create differentiated value and new revenue streams.

Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, said: “Our expanded partnership with Google Cloud represents a significant milestone for Liberty Global as we continue to innovate and enhance the experiences we offer our customers and drive substantial value creation for all our stakeholders. By harnessing the power of AI and cloud technology, we are not only modernizing our infrastructure but also creating new revenue opportunities and products that will benefit millions of consumers across our operating companies.”

President of Google Cloud EMEA, Tara Brady, said: “We are deepening our partnership with Liberty Global to deliver transformative solutions that enhance customer experience and drive operational excellence. Our goal is simple: to use technology to cut through complexity and bring value to our customers and partners.”

*Represents aggregate consolidated and 50%-owned non-consolidated fixed and mobile subscribers, including those of UPC Slovakia. Includes wholesale mobile connections of the VMO2 JV and B2B fixed subscribers of the VodafoneZiggo JV.