Vodacom (JSE:VOD) has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Google Cloud, enabling the South African operator to deploy advanced AI and data-analytics tools across its African markets. The partnership gives Vodacom access to Google Cloud’s Gemini models, Veo video-generation tools, Imagen image-generation systems and its full data-engineering stack.

The company said the agreement forms part of its broader digital-transformation strategy, aimed at improving customer-experience systems, network intelligence and operational efficiency. Vodacom will also integrate cloud-native architectures to scale digital services across its footprint, which includes South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Lesotho.

Google Cloud’s AI models will be used to strengthen Vodacom’s internal automation and to support new digital-service products, particularly in financial services and mobile-commerce segments. The operator said the tools would also help accelerate fraud detection and modernise analytics in high-volume transaction environments.

The agreement comes shortly after Vodacom confirmed it is evaluating options to increase its stake in Safaricom (NSE:SCOM), the Kenyan market leader. Analysts view the Safaricom review as part of a wider strategy to consolidate regional assets and deepen exposure to East Africa’s fast-growing data and mobile-money markets.

Vodacom said the Google Cloud collaboration would enhance its ability to deliver AI-enabled platforms at scale, supporting network planning, predictive-maintenance systems and personalised digital-engagement services. The company will progressively deploy generative-AI tools across enterprise and consumer business lines.

Google Cloud confirmed that it will provide engineering support to help Vodacom migrate selected workloads to cloud environments and embed generative-AI capabilities into product-development processes. Both parties said further technical details will be announced as deployments advance.

Vodacom added that the partnership aligns with parent company Vodafone Group’s global AI roadmap, which includes shared development across European and African operations.