The announcement represents an unusual alliance between two companies that have long competed in the smartphone market, where Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems dominate globally.
The technology giants and announced, this Monday (12), a partnership that will allow Apple’s next generation artificial intelligence functions, including the virtual assistant Siri, to use Google’s Gemini technology. The collaboration represents a significant change for Apple, which has traditionally developed its own technology.
According to a joint statement, Apple selected Google’s AI technology after a “comprehensive evaluation” which concluded that Gemini offers “the strongest foundation” for the iPhone maker’s AI ambitions. The announcement represents an unusual alliance between two companies that have long competed in the smartphone market, where Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems dominate globally.
Neither Apple nor Google have released financial details about the new AI deal. But just the news of the association caused the share price of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, to surpass the 4 trillion dollar mark for the first time (R$21.5 trillion).
However, the two competitors have maintained a profitable partnership for years: Google has paid Apple billions of dollars a year to remain the default search engine on iPhones and other Apple devices. This agreement was the subject of scrutiny by competition regulators. The U.S. Department of Justice argued in an antitrust case that the pact helped Google maintain its leadership in online search, but a judge indicated the deal could continue.
Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of his own AI company, xAI, criticized the agreement, considering it anti-competitive. He called it “an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that it also has Android and Chrome”. According to the press, Apple also evaluated associations with OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity.
*With information from AFP
