Apple plans to pay about US$1 billion a year for an ultrapowerful 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model developed by Alphabet’s Google that would help run its long-promised overhaul of the Siri voice assistant, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
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Following an extensive evaluation period, the two companies are now finalising an agreement that would give Apple access to Google’s technology, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
The iPhone maker is banking on Google’s help to rebuild Siri’s underlying technology, setting the stage for a new slate of features next year. The Google model’s 1.2 trillion parameters – a measure of the AI software’s complexity – would dwarf the level of Apple’s current models.
Apple had previously considered using other third-party models to handle the task. But after testing Gemini, OpenAI’s GPT and Anthropic’s Claude, Apple zeroed in on Google earlier this year, Bloomberg reported at the time. The hope is to use the technology as an interim solution until Apple’s own AI models are powerful enough.
The new Siri is on track for next spring, Bloomberg has reported. Given the launch is still months away, the plans and partnership could still evolve. Apple and Google representatives declined to comment.
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Shares of both companies briefly jumped to session highs on the news on Wednesday. Apple’s stock gained less than 1 per cent to US$271.70, while Alphabet was up as much as 3.2 per cent to US$286.42.