Apple is teaming up with Google to use Gemini models for an AI-powered Siri
Reports swirled in August that Apple was in early talks with the search giant to use a custom Gemini model to power a new iteration of Siri.
Google’s market value surpassed Apple for the first time since 2019 and touched above $4 trillion following the news.
“After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we’re excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users,” Apple wrote.
In the future, it would be possible, for example, to make purchases directly from Google Search / ads, Gemini, etc. If the adoption of this takes off in a big way, it could have a massive impact on how online shopping evolves. This will, of course, be integrated into Google advertising products as well. I’ll be following this with interest.
The difference compared to the similar system previously released by OpenAI seems to be that this is an open system, meaning just about anything can be developed on top of it.
Google just launched a beta Personal Intelligence feature for the Gemini app, which can combine data from sources like Gmail and Google Photos to provide more personalized answers than before.
The feature can “infer” based on user data and offer even better responses. It competes with Apple Intelligence, is turned off by default, and will initially be available only to paying subscribers in the United States.
Google has recently appealed a court decision that found the company holds an illegal monopoly in the search engine market.
The company specifically and naturally opposes the court’s order to share search data with its competitors, as well as restrictions on exclusivity agreements with entities like Apple. According to Google, these penalties compromise user privacy and stifle innovation in an increasingly competitive environment.
The article also mentions that the appeal process is likely to delay the implementation of measures set in December, while the Department of Justice is still considering even stricter requirements, such as pushing for the sale of Chrome.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis emphasized his company’s leadership in AI development in Davos.
He predicts that artificial general intelligence (AGI) could potentially arrive by 2030, and furthermore, he estimates that a breakthrough in robotics will occur within a couple of years.
Hassabis considers competition in the field to be exceptionally fierce, but on the other hand, he also sees enormous potential in AI for solving global challenges.
Regarding physical robotics, Hassabis believes a breakthrough moment is approaching but estimates it’s still 18-24 months away. Google recently announced a collaboration with Boston Dynamics, with impressive demonstrations potentially coming “in a year or two” that could be scaled up.
This post by Jesper might be of interest in this thread, as Alphabet is also involved in these AI glasses.
According to Citigroup’s analysis, AI glasses are on the verge of a potential breakthrough as the next major consumer-oriented AI platform. Despite technical and commercial obstacles, development points to rapid growth where the boundary between technology, fashion, and health is blurring, with significant implications for both the market and investors.
These analyses are somewhat amusing: they’re always just about product price, components, etc., but I don’t think anyone has credibly explained why consumer preferences would change and why people would suddenly want these. For example, sales of Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses have been quite modest.
Outside of demanding professional VR/AR use (visual design like cars, architecture, pilot training, etc.), these glasses have hardly been seen.
Traditionally, people haven’t been very receptive to the idea that they could be filmed even more inconspicuously (which these glasses enable) and other similar issues—at least I remember those 2010s Google Glass ”glasshole” stories, and if I recall correctly, some users were even assaulted.
For many consumers, these are simply quite unsettling products—even if the miniaturization of electronics continues to improve.
Waymo has now opened its robotaxi service to customers in Miami – up until now, it seems they have only been testing there. Miami is the company’s sixth region in the United States and the first new area this year.
Initially, the service covers about 60 square miles in certain neighborhoods, but expansions are already planned. Waymo is naturally aiming to widen its lead over its competitors.
For 2026, Waymo has said it plans to expand to more U.S. markets, including Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, Washington and Nashville, Tenn. The company is also testing in New York, Tokyo and London, and has also said it will launch its first overseas commercial service this year.
In December, Waymo crossed 450,000 weekly paid rides, and the company said it had served 14 million trips in 2025. The company is in talks to raise $15 billion in funding, CNBC reported last month.
Below is a post about how U.S. traffic safety authorities are investigating incidents involving Waymo vehicles in Austin, where these self-driving cars have not slowed down or stopped properly near school buses. The issue specifically concerns the boarding of schoolchildren.
On the other hand, no accidents have occurred, but according to the article, authorities are monitoring the situation closely. Waymo itself has updated its software and, of course, maintains that its safety levels are high.
In December, Waymo said it would file a voluntary software recall to address the behavior. Waymo also said it had implemented software updates by Nov. 17 that it maintains have “meaningfully improved” vehicle performance around school buses.
Waymo has said it met with the Austin school district in December to review “data collection of various light patterns and conditions” related to interactions with school buses. It maintained that its software has improved since the issue was first raised.
Waymo says it aims to launch a driverless robotaxi service in London by the end of 2026. Britain is already preparing regulations for safe deployment and believes the sector will bring jobs and multi-billion pound economic benefits.
It estimates that the sector could create 38,000 jobs and unlock the potential of an industry estimated to be worth up to 42 billion pounds ($57.86 billion) to the UK economy by 2035.
Waymo is seeking to raise approximately $16 billion in a new funding round.
Its valuation would then rise to nearly $110 billion. Most of the money would come from Alphabet itself, with the rest coming from major investors. Waymo says it is focusing on safety, but authorities are still investigating an incident in which one of the company’s self-driving cars struck a child in Santa Monica, causing minor injuries.
Alphabet would provide about $13 billion to the autonomous driving firm while the rest would come from investors including Sequoia Capital, DST Global and Dragoneer Investment Group, the report added.
Waymo announced it has raised $16 billion in a funding round, which brings the company’s valuation to $126 billion.
New investors are involved, but Alphabet is the lead investor.
The funds will be used to accelerate expansion into new cities, although growth is also affected by various safety and regulatory investigations.
Key Points
Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo on Monday said it raised a $16 billion funding round that values the company at $126 billion “post-money.”
The new infusion of cash includes several new investors, the company said.
The fundraising round will allow the company to move “with unprecedented velocity, while maintaining our industry-leading safety standards,” Waymo said.
Alphabet’s end to the year was relatively fast-paced, and the company largely beat expectations by a clear margin, though not in all areas. Cloud services grew in particular, and advertising revenue continued to move forward strongly, but YouTube fell slightly short of its targets… in any case, the overall picture was positive.
Gemini and new innovations have clearly broken through and resonated with users, which was reflected in the highest annual revenue in history.
Looking to the future with open wallets, the company plans massive investments in AI infrastructure and technology to stay ahead of the curve. Although there was some minor fine-tuning in the EBITDA margin, Alphabet’s cash flow and general growth momentum show that Alphabet is still going strong.
Good numbers across the board, and at least it didn’t slide badly in the after-market, so it might have even been enough for the market.
Cloud continues to grow and is also bringing in a good amount of cash.
edit: Images aren’t loading for some reason, but you can also see the cloud figures from Alokas.
We’re seeing our AI investments and infrastructure drive revenue and growth across the board. To meet customer demand and capitalize on the growing opportunities we have ahead of us, our 2026 CapEx investments are anticipated to be in the range of $175 to $185 billion.”
Even though there’s growth across the board and plenty of money coming in, you can’t help but wonder what the return will be on, for instance, that 180 billion being invested in 2026.
Here’s some info on how Alphabet plans to spend up to 185 billion dollars on investments this year, while expectations were at 175 million, as already mentioned earlier in the thread. Otherwise, there’s some slight repetition here compared to previous messages.
It’s relatively easy for the company to carry out these “investments” etc., because advertising revenue and Google Cloud are growing strongly. According to Morgan Stanley, AI already seems to be improving service usage, thus bringing in more revenue; search revenue rose 17 percent and cloud services 48 percent last quarter. Meta reported something similar, but Microsoft was a disappointment in this regard.
But as has been mentioned in various contexts before, the risk is that this high pace of investment will quickly eat up cash flow, especially in the coming years. Of course, it’s clear that if growth continues to be strong and profitable, then the investment is worth it. On the other hand, if growth slows down or profitability issues arise, the company could face expensive problems, which won’t be nice for investors.
As Alphabet’s cloud backlog jumped sharply, that revealed demand for AI infrastructure and tools has been building. That provides some justification for the spending spree.
This was perhaps the most surprising: how large a gap Deep Think pulled ahead of other AI models in challenging coding tasks (Elo 3455 vs 2727). The scale is non-linear, and a 400-point Elo difference means a ~10 times higher probability of winning:
