Apple Inc. has closed an agreement with OpenAI to use the startup’s technology on the iPhone. It’s part of the push to bring artificial intelligence features to Apple devices due to its growing popularity and familiarity.
The two sides are finalizing terms for the use of AI in Apple’s new iOS 18 model, the next iPhone operating system. Apple was also in talks with Alphabet Inc.’s Google for the licensing of Gemini chatbot. The discussions haven’t resulted in any changes yet, but the talks are still ongoing.
Apple’s Tim Cook: ‘power and promise of AI’
Last year, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said he personally uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT but added that there were “a number of issues that need to be sorted.” He promised that new AI features would come to Apple’s products on a “very thoughtful basis.”
“We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI, and we believe we have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era, including Apple’s unique combination of seamless hardware, software and services integration,” Cook said during the earnings call.
An OpenAI accord would let Apple offer a popular chatbot as part of a flurry of new AI features that it’s planning to announce next month. Bloomberg reported in April that the discussions with OpenAI had intensified. Still, there’s no guarantee that an agreement will be announced imminently.
Apple, OpenAI and Google representatives refused to comment.
Apple plans to make a splash in the artificial intelligence world in June when it holds its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. As part of the push, the company will run some of its upcoming artificial intelligence features via data centres equipped with its own in-house processors, Bloomberg has reported.
