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ZDNET's key takeaways
Gemma 4 is now fully open-source under Apache 2.0.
Local AI enables privacy, offline use, and lower costs.
From servers to smartphones, deployment just got much easier.
Google announced today that its DeepMind AI research division is releasing Gemma 4, its latest generation of open large language models. The models are being released under the Apache 2.0 license, making them truly open source compared to the permissive but still controlled license of earlier Gemma generations.
What is Gemma?
Gemma is an LLM like Gemini. But here, we're talking about the AI processing engine, not the chatbot interface. Both Gemma and Gemini were developed using the same research and technology. The difference is that Gemini is a subscription-based closed product, whereas Gemma is an open model that can be downloaded and run locally for free.
The ability to run an AI model locally without a fee benefits a variety of applications. There are plenty of folks who want to run AI at home, without relying on the cloud, and for free.
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