Bloomberg: Artificial intelligence collaboration negotiations between Apple and Meta fail, sources say

The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple and Meta are in negotiations to bring Meta’s generative artificial intelligence model to Apple devices. According to Bloomberg, the talks were brief and ended quickly. The consumer electronics giant Apple is in discussions with Meta to bring Meta’s generative artificial intelligence Llama 3 to Apple devices, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Meta is the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, among other platforms. The WSJ stated that Meta and other companies developing AI applications are looking to leverage Apple’s extensive distribution network through iPhones.

However, Bloomberg’s reporter Mark Gurman reported early on Tuesday that Apple has rejected Meta’s proposal to bring Llama to Apple devices. According to Gurman’s sources, the companies briefly discussed the matter in March, but the discussions did not progress, and Apple is currently not actively planning to integrate Meta’s AI into its devices. Gurman’s sources also revealed that Apple declined to enter formal discussions with Meta due to concerns about Meta’s privacy policies.

Apple has already signed an agreement with another AI developer, Open AI, in early June. The company announced its partnership with Open AI and released its AI strategy, which includes using Open AI’s Chat GPT tool for Siri’s most challenging tasks. Apple also aims to offer users a choice of external AI tools for different purposes on their devices by negotiating collaborations with companies like Anthropic and Perplexity, who develop generative AI tools.

Through these partnerships, Apple hopes to provide users with a wider range of AI tools while allowing AI companies to reach more users through Apple devices. The agreements may involve a revenue-sharing model where Apple takes a cut of the monthly fees from users who opt for paid versions of AI applications. It was reported that the EU region may have to wait longer to receive new AI features on Apple devices due to uncertainties around EU restrictions and data security concerns.