Apple to pay Google $1B annually for Siri AI model
What's the story
Apple is said to be on the verge of finalizing a major deal with Google. The iPhone maker will pay the tech giant some $1 billion annually for a customized version of Google's Gemini AI model, Bloomberg reported. This move is part of Apple's plan to overhaul its voice assistant, Siri, and make it more powerful and capable of handling complex tasks.
Strategic decision
Apple's shift from in-house tech to 3rd-party solutions
The deal with Google marks a major shift for Apple, which has mostly relied on its own technology. The company now plans to use Google Gemini as a stopgap until it can develop its own powerful AI. The custom model from Google is said to have 1.2 trillion parameters, far more than Apple's current models that use 150 billion parameters in their cloud-based version of Apple Intelligence.
Model testing
Apple's exploration of AI models from competitors
Earlier this year, Apple also tested AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic. After evaluating models from all three companies, it decided to go with Google. The revamped Siri is expected to launch next spring, but the plans could change as the launch date is still months away.
Project details
Project Glenwood: Apple's Siri revamp and Google's Gemini integration
The collaboration, codenamed Project Glenwood, is being led by Mike Rockwell. He recently took charge of Apple's Siri revamp and is working with Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software engineering. Under this partnership, Google's Gemini model will power Siri's summarisation and task-planning functions. However, some Siri capabilities will still be powered by Apple's proprietary AI systems to ensure data privacy and security.