‘Walled-Off’ Gemini: Apple’s $1B Privacy-First Deal with Google

Apple has found a way to use its rival’s best-in-class AI without sacrificing privacy. A $1 billion-a-year deal will see Google’s 1.2 trillion parameter Gemini model power the new Siri, but it will be “walled-off” on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers.

This architecture is the key to the partnership. It means Google gets its $1B fee, but no access to Apple’s user data, a non-negotiable point for Apple.

This “interim solution” is part of Apple’s “Glenwood” project to fix Siri. Google’s “ultrapowerful” AI, which won a “bake-off” against OpenAI and Anthropic, will handle all complex “summariser” and “planner” functions for the new “Linwood” assistant.

This is a massive upgrade from Apple’s 150-billion parameter models and a reluctant admission of its AI lag. The project is being overseen by top executives Craig Federighi and Mike Rockwell.

While Apple works to develop its own 1T+ model, this “temporary” fix could last for years. It’s a pragmatic solution to a difficult problem.