Report: Apple Investing $1 Billion a Year to Integrate Generative AI

Apple is reportedly investing $1 billion per year to integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) across its product line.

While the company initially lagged behind competitors like Google and Microsoft in the development of generative AI during the recent surge of interest in the technology, Apple is now gearing up to bring this technology to its full range of offerings, Bloomberg reported Sunday (Oct. 22).

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook, Apple has acknowledged the importance of generative AI and has been working on its own technology for years, according to the report. However, the sudden surge in AI advancements caught the company off guard, and it has been playing catch-up since late last year.

To bridge this gap, Apple has built its own large language model called Ajax and introduced an internal chatbot named Apple GPT to test its functionality, the report said. The company’s senior vice presidents in charge of AI and software engineering, John Giannandrea and Craig Federighi, are leading the effort to integrate generative AI into Apple’s products, and its head of services, Eddy Cue, is also involved.

Giannandrea’s team is focused on developing the underlying technology for a new AI system, with the goal of revamping the digital assistant Siri to implement generative AI, per the report. This smarter version of Siri could be ready as early as next year. Federighi’s software engineering group is also working on integrating AI into the next version of iOS, enhancing features like Siri and the Messages app to provide more intelligent responses and auto-complete suggestions.

In addition to Siri and iOS, Apple is exploring ways to incorporate generative AI into other aspects of its ecosystem, according to the report. The company is considering integrating AI into development tools like Xcode, which could help app developers write new applications more efficiently. Apple’s services team, led by Cue, is also exploring the use of generative AI in Apple Music and productivity apps like Pages and Keynote.

This news comes at a time when it seems like every company and its subsidiary is attempting a transformation with generative AI. While Apple has taken a quieter approach to its integrations compared to its Big Tech peers, Cook said in September: “We view AI and machine learning as core fundamental technologies that are integral to virtually every product that we build.”