On Monday, Russia’s prominent lender Sberbank announced the launch of a new technology called GigaChat, an AI chatbot that would provide competition to Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This invite-only testing period of GigaChat is the beginning of a race among tech firms to get AI in the hands of more customers.
The key differentiator between GigaChat and ChatGPT is its ability to communicate in a more intelligent Russian way than other foreign neural networks. Sberbank’s recent investments in the technology sector has aimed to reduce the country’s dependence on imports, however, due to the Western nation’s restrictions on exports to Russia and the sanctions imposed, this has become a critical issue.
The Sberbank Group is the largest financial services group in Russia and the CIS, providing a wide range of services and products to everyday consumers, businesses, government bodies and international organizations in 12 countries. Herman Gref is the Chairman and CEO of Sberbank. Gref’s direct involvement in the tech initiatives of Sberbank, are evidence for his innovative and aggressive entrepreneurship. Gref is well-known for believing in the potential of technology to increase efficiency and spur economic growth, especially within the banking system.
ChatGPT has generated a buzz in the tech industry, pushing competitors to introduce AI into customers’ hands. GigaChat’s launch shows that Sberbank is ready to compete in this race. It remains to be seen whether GigaChat can replace OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Nonetheless, Sberbank’s investment in AI clearly demonstrates that GigaChat has the potential to offer a new and more intelligent way of communication in the near future.
