• by Colin Kirkland , June 24, 2024

Following a recent partnership with OpenAI, Apple is reportedly considering partnering with tech rival Meta to integrate the social media giant’s generative AI model into Apple’s new AI system for iPhones, according to The Wall Street Journal.

At its developer conference earlier this month, Apple announced Apple Intelligence, which CEO Tim Cook called a “personal intelligence system” based on the company’s own generative AI models and custom semiconductor chips. The system will also utilize OpenAI’s ChatGPT across Apple devices and services, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, Mail, Notes and Pages, while also helping to reinvent its Photos app and Siri. 

While other technology giants like Google and Meta have been focusing their efforts on the development of AI-driven features, Apple is making up for lost time.

Upon partnering with OpenAI, which Apple software leader Craig Federighi said was “the best choice for our users today,” the company doesn’t want to grow overly reliant on one company. 

In addition to OpenAI, Apple reportedly wants to integrate with Google’s family of multimodal large language models known as Gemini, as well as AI startups Anthropic and Perplexity, and now Meta.

Partnering with multiple leaders in generative AI would provide Apple users with a wider range of features provided by each large language model, giving them more options across their devices. The AI companies, in exchange, would be able to grow their user base exponentially and sell premium subscriptions through Apple’s global distribution of iPhones, similar to how third-party apps use Apple’s App Store. 

A deal with Meta, however -- which The Wall Street Journal says is still not finalized -- is less expected, due to the history between the rival companies, specifically in relation to Apple’s privacy changes in 2021 and Meta’s insistence in April that advertisers avoid paying Apple’s 30% service charge for “boosted posts.” 

The potential partnership, however, highlights the type of unlikely formations happening in the artificial-intelligence era. 

For the past year-and-a-half, Meta has also been trying to prove itself as an leader in generative-AI technology through the development of its Llama models –– a move that has positioned the company in direct competition with other tech giants while winning back shareholders after spilling billions into its metaverse investments. 

“While Llama has gained support and adoption within the tech industry and among startups, a deal with Apple would represent a major victory for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and his company’s AI division,” The Wall Street Journal notes.