Apple (AAPL) is reportedly nearing a landmark agreement to pay Google roughly $1 billion each year—apparently a bargain for a company whose market cap now eclipses the GDP of Denmark—to power the next generation of Siri using Google’s colossal AI model. This deal, undertaken with a confidentiality reminiscent of a G7 summit, marks a new chapter in Silicon Valley’s favorite corporate frenemy relationship, complete with courtroom drama, regulatory intrigue, and a dash of strategic one-upmanship worthy of any midday boardroom soap opera.
Siri’s Glow-Up: Powered by Google Brain
Apple, long content to let Siri answer questions with all the subtlety of a well-meaning but clueless uncle, has finally acknowledged that perhaps Google’s 1.2 trillion-parameter AI could teach the voice assistant new tricks—or at least, help it avoid confusing “weather in Paris” with “party in Weimar Republic”. For Google, the deal is more than just another cash injection—it’s a crowning endorsement from the very company that built its brand on the premise of “Think Different”. If you can’t beat ‘em, let ‘em run your voice assistant.
Antitrust Tango: When $20 Billion Is Just a Footnote
For years, Google’s payments to Apple (now estimated at $20 billion annually just for search engine default privilege) have been the subject of antitrust scrutiny heavier than a typical Friday in Brussels. Federal courts, after much deliberation, have waved the deal through for now—though only on one-year contracts, giving Apple annual leverage to extract increasingly fanciful terms. The arrangement contributes a handsome chunk to Apple’s Services revenue, a division growing faster than most portfolio managers’ patience at regulatory hearings.
The Implications: Wall Gardens and Competitive Weeding
Apple’s classic “walled garden” ecosystem, where the only way out is through another paid subscription, finds reinforcement in this partnership. Meanwhile, Google gets privileged access to Apple’s global user base, which drives as much as half of its mobile search revenue—proving once again that, in tech, successful co-dependency beats rivalry any day. The upshot: regulators remain perplexed, competitors remain outside looking in, and investors watch Alphabet stock jump at every fresh headline.
The Real AI Upgrade
If Apple’s internal teams are crestfallen over not developing a competitive AI in-house, they can take solace in the fact that at least Siri won’t be recommending “iPhone cleaning fluid” for existential crises anymore. For Google, handing over AI smarts might be the closest thing to buying new friends this side of an elementary school playground. Somewhere, Alexa is quietly wondering if it’s time to start sending résumés.
In sum, the Apple-Google pact is emblematic of modern tech strategy—a marriage of convenience, lavishly funded, and more closely observed by regulators than a Wall Street analyst counting free muffins in an earnings call. Let the search—and the sophisticated AI banter—continue.
Sources
[1] Apple Nears Deal to Pay Google Roughly $1 Billion a Year for Siri AI Model https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-nears-deal-pay-google-193449127.html
[2] Apple nears deal to pay Google $1B annually to power new Siri, report says https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-nears-deal-pay-google-203747696.html
[3] Apple dodged a $20 billion hit, thanks to Google antitrust ruling https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-dodged-a-20-billion-hit-thanks-to-google-antitrust-ruling-163056806.html
[4] Apple, Google Agreed to ‘Defend’ Search Deal From Regulators https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-testify-sees-no-deploy-090000841.html
[5] Apple Nears $1 Billion-a Year Deal to Use Google AI for Siri https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-05/apple-plans-to-use-1-2-trillion-parameter-google-gemini-model-to-power-new-siri
[6] Alphabet stock jumps after report of Apple’s plans to use Google AI … https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabet-stock-jumps-report-apple-195008167.html
[7] Apple-Google Search Deal Stability Could Be a Game Changer for … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-google-search-deal-stability-120646516.html
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[13] Google’s Payments to Apple Reached $20 Billion in 2022, Cue Says https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-01/google-s-payments-to-apple-reached-20-billion-in-2022-cue-says
[14] Perplexity Finance – Quotes, Forecasts, News, Charts, and More https://www.perplexity.ai/finance/AAPL
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[18] Google, Epic Games Strike Comprehensive Deal In Long-Running … https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/google-epic-games-strike-comprehensive-deal-in-antitrust-case/cL2qarZREG3
[19] Google Settles Epic Lawsuit, Cuts Android Store Fees to 9-20% https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/google-settles-epic-lawsuit-cuts-android-store-fees-to-9-20
[20] Epic Games CEO calls Google’s antitrust settlement a win for … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/epic-games-ceo-calls-google-144935317.html
[21] The Legal Analyst In Google’s Corner – AdExchanger https://www.adexchanger.com/adexchanger-talks/the-legal-analyst-in-googles-corner/
