Apple to use Gemini foundation model for Apple Intelligence

Surprising turn of events

Google announced that Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology.

The irony of the deal is that the Apple iPhone will be powered by Google intelligence, but at the same time, Alphabet—the umbrella company that owns Google—has always wanted to get Gemini to a wider audience. Now it gets the widest possible audience outside its own Android ecosystem.

Apple Foundation Models based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year. There is quite a dense competition in foundation training models, and Apple probably looked at many options. For me, an interesting angle is the cloud part of the announcement, as Apple definitely needed a beefier infrastructure—something that Google can obviously provide.

The announcement suggests that Apple determined that Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models. Apple users should be excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for them.

Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards. The last sentence of the announcement disarms Apple and its marketing machine from taking aim at Google’s lack of privacy and advertising-driven background.

People like Elon Musk and his Grok AI, as well as Sam Altman and OpenAI/GPT-5, Meta with Llama 4, Mistral AI, and Anthropic with Claude 4.5, are among the losers. NVIDIA also has a Nemotron model, but this doesn’t look like an immediate fit, as it targets data centers and robotics—not something that can immediately help Apple. The most obvious competitor, ChatGPT, will have to settle for its endeavor with Microsoft, though outside of this Gemini deal, it was the most likely possibility.