Russia's Sberbank offers AI model to Global South states keen to bridge digital divide

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

ALEXANDER VEDYAKHIN. Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy CEO of Sberbank, poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters at his office in Moscow, Russia November 11, 2025.

Anastasia Barashkova/Reuters

Russia lags the US and China in the global AI race, and Sberbank and Russian IT giant Yandex are working to catch up with their flagship models, GigaChat and YandexGPT

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Russia is marketing “sovereign AI” to Global South countries concerned about privacy and content in Western AI models, a Sberbank executive told Reuters, as emerging states look to benefit from the technology and leapfrog hurdles such as weaker infrastructure.