Apple deepens its dependence on Google by handing over Siri to Google Cloud

Apple is seeking to host the next generation of its voice assistant Siri on Google Cloud. This move reflects the deep-rooted challenges accumulated from the company’s long-standing underinvestment in cloud computing and further deepens its reliance on external infrastructure.

According to The Information on Tuesday, at Apple’s request, Google has begun a feasibility study on deploying dedicated servers within its data centers to run the new Siri powered by Gemini. Sources familiar with the matter say the plan must also meet Apple’s privacy standards. Apple has previously relied on Google Cloud for online storage and internal AI model training. If this hosting arrangement is implemented, it would mark a new phase in the cloud computing partnership between the two companies.

This development comes amid low utilization of Apple’s own cloud infrastructure. Former employees reveal that the private cloud system designed specifically for AI is only about 10% utilized on average, with some servers still stored in warehouses and not yet installed.

Meanwhile, Apple’s progress in AI continues to lag behind expectations. The more conversational version of Siri has yet to be released, and the market’s response to its existing AI features has been tepid.

Financial Constraints Suppress Cloud Strategy Investment

Apple’s cloud computing difficulties date back decades, rooted in the company’s finance team historically viewing cloud as a cost burden rather than a strategic asset.

According to over ten former Apple executives and engineers, Apple’s finance department has long suppressed large-scale investments in its own cloud infrastructure, preferring to rent computing power from external providers like Google and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to maintain flexible control over infrastructure costs. This approach has led to ongoing talent drain in the cloud computing field.

After Mike Abbott, who joined Apple in 2019 and led cloud infrastructure integration, left in 2023, many team members followed him to General Motors, further weakening Apple’s internal cloud capabilities.

In terms of capital expenditure, Apple lags significantly behind peers. Tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have heavily invested in data centers to meet the explosive growth in AI computing demand, while Apple has largely stayed on the sidelines.

Frequent Issues with Private Cloud Systems Limit AI Deployment

Apple’s private cloud system, launched in June 2024 alongside Apple Intelligence, was actually incomplete at launch, delayed by about six months from the original plan, and only went live at the end of 2024.

Former employees note that the system’s performance within Apple’s data centers has been less than ideal. First, software updates for private cloud servers take much longer than for other server types; second, the private cloud servers equipped with Apple-designed chips are not optimized for AI workloads, showing clear limitations when running large models like Google Gemini.

Igor Naverniouk, a former Apple engineer who participated in the development of the next-generation Siri and left in December last year, pointed out fundamental differences in engineering culture between Apple and Google: “At Google, most resources are centrally managed, and everyone shares the same supercomputer. At Apple, technology choices are made independently.” He previously worked in Google’s infrastructure team for over ten years.

Google Partnership Transitions from Forbidden Zone to Core Dependency

Apple’s collaboration with Google in cloud computing has not been smooth. For years, Apple, citing privacy concerns, explicitly prohibited AI engineers from using Google Cloud—privacy lead Craig Federighi repeatedly vetoed proposals to use Google Cloud for AI computing power.

The turning point came in 2023. Google upgraded its security systems to meet Apple’s privacy requirements, after which Apple began integrating Google Cloud into its AI infrastructure and adopted Google’s custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs)—which Apple estimates are significantly cheaper to operate than NVIDIA’s comparable chips.

In January this year, Apple announced an agreement with Google to incorporate the Gemini model into Apple products, further deepening their AI partnership. If Google ultimately takes over the cloud hosting for the new Siri, Apple’s dependence on this competitor will extend from models to infrastructure, creating a more comprehensive strategic reliance.

The New Siri Could Be a Turning Point

Despite low utilization of its private cloud system, Apple still plans to launch a new version of Siri this year. If this product gains widespread user adoption, the demand for AI computing power could surge rapidly, and the existing infrastructure will face a severe test.

The Information cites sources saying that Apple and Google are discussing hosting the new Siri, partly to prepare for a potential surge in computing needs once the new Siri is launched.

For investors, these developments reveal structural weaknesses in Apple’s AI race: as competitors continue to ramp up their own computing infrastructure, Apple’s cloud capabilities remain constrained by financial culture and historical issues. The gap between its AI strategic execution and market expectations is unlikely to be bridged in the short term.

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