Google terminates agreement with AI firm that provided services to Microsoft and Amazon as well
Google has terminated its contract with Australian data company Appen, which helped the tech giant train the large language model (LLM) AI tools used in Bard and search.
Appen said in an Australian stock exchange filing that it had no prior knowledge of Google’s decision to terminate the contract. In 2023, Appen’s turnover from Google was 82.8 million dollars with a gross margin of 26 percent.
“The news is unexpected and disappointing, especially given Appen’s turnaround and performance in November-December 2023,” the company said in its filing.
A Google spokesperson told The Verge that the decision to terminate the deal was made as part of our ongoing effort to evaluate and adapt our many supplier partnerships at Alphabet to ensure our supplier operations are as efficient as possible.
At Appen, contractors help assess data quality and AI model responses. Appen has also helped train AI models for Microsoft, Metal, and Amazon.
“Appen remains focused on cost control, business turnaround and delivering high-quality AI data to its customers,” it said.
The Australian company will immediately change its strategic priorities after the termination of the Google contract, and will provide more information on February 27 in its 23 financial year results.
Google is working closely with Appen to make the transition “as smooth as possible.”
