Google hopes to forge a licensing deal with Apple for its artificial intelligence engine Gemini, Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in a court hearing on Wednesday. Google stock dipped while Apple stock rose as the Nasdaq composite sold off amid growing investor worries over the U.S. economy.
Apple has lagged in upgrading its iPhone assistant Siri with generative AI technology. Google's Gemini AI model family is a rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. At an antitrust trial involving Google's internet search business, Pichai said Alphabet expects to strike a licensing deal with Apple by the middle of this year, with Gemini available on iPhones by the end of 2025.
The iPhone maker rolled out new AI features last year as "Apple Intelligence," but results underwhelmed users.
On the stock market today, Google stock fell more than 1% to 157.52 in afternoon trading amid a broad market sell-off. Apple stock rose a fraction to near 212. Earnings for Apple stock are due after the market close on Thursday.
The emergence of generative AI and competition from OpenAI's ChatGPT forced Google to overhaul its search results. ChatGPT delivers answers to search queries, while Google's business model has been based on providing web links.
Internet Search Antitrust Ruling
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, has an ongoing antitrust case vs. Google involving the internet search business.
Federal judge Amit Mehta last year ruled that Alphabet illegally maintained a monopoly over online search services and prevented rivals from developing their own products.
A key part of the ruling centered on multibillion-dollar payments that Google makes to Apple to be the default search engine on iPhones.
Further, Pichai made his comments on an Apple licensing deal at a court hearing to discuss possible remedies.
Pichai said he was told by Apple CEO Tim Cook that more third-party AI models would ship on Apple Intelligence later this year. Apple already has a deal with OpenAI.
Judge Mehta is expected to decide on Google penalties by August. The DoJ has requested that Google be forced to sell its Chrome browser and take other measures, possibly involving Apple.
Also, Google is competing with OpenAI, Anthropic, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms and many others in building new AI training models. In March, Google unveiled its newest artificial intelligence model, Gemini 2.5. Early reviews have been positive.
Google Stock Technical Ratings
Alphabet stock holds an IBD Composite Rating of 80 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
IBD's Composite Rating is a blend of key fundamental and technical metrics to help investors gauge a stock's strengths. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
Google is among the top artificial intelligence stocks to watch.
Google stock holds an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of C. That institutional ownership rating analyzes price and volume changes in a stock over the past 13 weeks of trading. A+ signifies heavy institutional buying; E means heavy selling. Think of a C grade as neutral.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on X, formerly Twitter, @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
