Apple’s $1B ‘Walled-Off’ Deal to Use Gemini for ‘Linwood’ Siri

Apple has finalized a $1 billion-a-year deal to use Google’s 1.2 trillion parameter Gemini AI for its new “Linwood” Siri, but it’s all happening inside a “walled-off” garden. The AI will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, not Google’s.

This “interim solution” is the key to Apple’s “Glenwood” project. It allows Apple to use Google’s “ultrapowerful” AI—which won a “bake-off” against OpenAI and Anthropic—without sacrificing its non-negotiable privacy stance.

The new Siri will be a hybrid. Apple’s 150-billion parameter models will handle simple tasks, while Google’s AI will tackle complex “summariser” and “planner” functions.

The partnership is a reluctant admission of Apple’s AI lag, overseen by executives Craig Federighi and Mike Rockwell. It’s also a huge win for Google’s “AI supplier” business.

While Apple is pushing its teams to build a 1T+ model to replace Gemini, this “temporary” fix could last for years, a testament to Google’s AI lead.