Tech giant Apple is in talks with Google to build a Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, a report from Bloomberg News said on Monday, citing people familiar with the situation.
The negotiations are about licensing Gemini for some new features coming to the iPhone software this year, the report said, adding that the terms or branding of an AI agreement or how it would be implemented have not been decided.
According to the report, it is unlikely that any deal will be announced until June when Apple plans to hold its annual developer conference. The iPhone maker also recently held talks with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI about using its model.
Apple, Alphabet-owned Google and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters's requests for comment.
Alphabet shares rose 3% in premarket U.S. trading, while Apple was up 0.5%.
A potential deal between the firms could help Google expand its use of its AI services to more than 2 billion active Apple devices, boosting the search giant's efforts to catch up with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
It could also help allay investor fears about the slow roll-out of AI apps by Apple, which has lost the crown of the world's most valuable firm after a 10% decline in its shares this year.
The firms have a years-long partnership that makes Google the default search engine on Apple's Safari web browser, and a genAI tie-up may help the Alphabet unit navigate fears that services like ChatGPT could threaten its search dominance.
However, the agreement could also invite sharper scrutiny from U.S. regulators, who have sued Google because it unlawfully stifled competition by paying billions of dollars to Apple to maintain its monopoly in search.
Google partnered with Apple's rival Samsung in January to deploy its genAI technology in the South Korean firm's Galaxy S24 series of smartphones. This move was part of Google's efforts to boost the use of Gemini after some missteps during its roll-out.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that the company was investing "significantly" in generative AI and would reveal more about its plans to use the technology later this year.
The Bloomberg report said Apple was planning to use its own homegrown AI models for some new capabilities in its upcoming iOS 18 but was seeking a partner to power genAI features, including functions for creating images and writing essays based on simple prompts.
