Alphabet Shares Rise 1% on Apple AI Partnership, Market Cap Tops $4 Trillion
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) gained 1% to close at $331.86 after announcing a multiyear AI partnership with Apple, pushing its market valuation above $4 trillion. The deal designates Google's technology as the primary foundation for Apple's AI models, with potential annual payments nearing $1 billion.
Google Cloud's $155 billion backlog from reserved AI compute contracts underscores surging demand for its infrastructure. The company's planned $40 billion Texas data center expansion aims to double capacity by 2026, creating Ripple effects across global supply chains.
While the Apple partnership strengthens Alphabet's AI dominance, competitive risks persist. Apple's platform-agnostic approach leaves room for collaborations with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI providers alongside Google.