A ‘Reluctant’ Apple Pays Google $1B for Siri’s AI Upgrade

A “reluctant” Apple has agreed to pay Google $1 billion annually to use its “ultrapowerful” 1.2 trillion parameter Gemini AI. This “interim solution” is a necessary step in Apple’s “Glenwood” project to fix the long-struggling Siri assistant.

The new “Linwood” Siri, set for a spring release, will be a hybrid. Apple’s 150-billion parameter models will handle simple tasks, while Google’s AI will act as the “behind-the-scenes” engine for complex “summariser” and “planner” functions.

Google’s AI was chosen after an extensive “bake-off” where it outperformed models from OpenAI and Anthropic. The deal is a significant win for Google’s “AI supplier” strategy.

For Apple, it’s a clear admission of its AI lag. Executives Craig Federighi and Mike Rockwell are tasked with delivering a competitive assistant, even if it means using a rival’s tech.

Privacy is the non-negotiable core of the deal. The Gemini model will be hosted on Apple’s “walled-off” Private Cloud Compute servers, guaranteeing Google gets its $1B fee but no access to Apple user data.