Google's artificial intelligence (AI) research arm DeepMind has won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), the world's most prestigious competition for young mathematicians. It is the first time a machine has solved five of the six problems in algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and number theory -- signalling a breakthrough in math capabilities of AI systems that can rival human intelligence.

IMO problems are known for their difficulty, and solving them requires a deep understanding of mathematical concepts -- something which the AI models had not been able to achieve up until now. However, an advanced version of Gemini Deep Think managed to ace the competition where 67 contestants, or about 11 per cent, achieved gold-medal scores.

" We can confirm that Google DeepMind has reached the much-desired milestone, earning 35 out of a possible 42 points, a gold medal score. Their solutions were astonishing in many respects. IMO graders found them to be clear, precise and most of them easy to follow," said IMO President Dr Gregor Dolinar.

Last year, DeepMind's combined AlphaProof and AlphaGeometry 2 systems achieved the silver-medal standard in the competition, but it took two to three days of computation. This year, the advanced Gemini model operated end-to-end in natural language and managed to produce the results within the 4.5-hour competition time limit.

The DeepMind team trained the advanced Gemini model on novel reinforcement learning techniques that can leverage more multi-step reasoning, problem-solving and theorem-proving data.