Apple is closing in on a deal with Google that would see the iPhone maker pay the tech giant roughly $1 billion a year for a customized version of Google’s Gemini AI model to power its overhaul of Siri, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
The move is important for Apple, which has traditionally relied on its own technology, but plans to use Google’s model as a temporary solution until its own AI is powerful enough, including to power a number of future features for the voice assistant.
The custom AI model’s 1.2 trillion parameters (a measure of software complexity and capability) would far exceed the level of Apple’s current models. For context, the current cloud-based version of Apple Intelligence uses 150 billion parameters, meaning Google’s model would be about eight times more complex.
Apple had also considered using AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic earlier this year. After testing models from all three companies, Apple decided keep going with google.
According to Bloomberg, the revised Siri is expected to launch next spring. However, with the launch still months away, plans for the renewal could change.
