Apple-Nvidia Friends Again? Nvidia Says Its Chips In Google Cloud Are Powering Apple Intelligence

Apple shifted to AMD’s graphics chips around 2015 after encountering reliability issues with some Nvidia GPUs, alongside broader disagreements over product design, technology roadmaps, and licensing.

• Apple is expanding Private Cloud Compute (PCC), its cloud infrastructure for Apple Intelligence, beyond its own data centers to Google Cloud.
• Some Apple Intelligence workloads will now be serviced via Google Cloud, which uses Nvidia’s AI accelerators.
• Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is underway, and AAPL stock continues to slide.

In a departure from the status quo, Apple is tapping Nvidia’s AI accelerators to power Apple Intelligence features and its revamped Siri virtual assistant, drawing the two tech giants closer after more than a decade of limited business ties.

At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced that it is expanding Private Cloud Compute (PCC), its privacy-focused cloud infrastructure for Apple Intelligence, beyond its own data centers for the first time.

Until recently, the PCC data centers used Apple’s custom silicon. With the latest expansion, Apple is partnering with Google and Nvidia to support new Apple Intelligence workloads on Google Cloud servers equipped with Nvidia GPUs. 

In a blog post on Tuesday, Nvidia said its GPUs with “Confidential Computing” are being used for confidential inference in Apple’s PCC, and Nvidia GPUs are handling server-side inference for Apple Foundation Models. 

Nvidia Confidential Computing technology provides a hardware-based security layer for AI workloads, protecting data during processing by isolating tasks in trusted execution environments and verifying system integrity before sensitive information is transmitted, according to the company.

Apple, Nvidia Worked At Arm’s Length 

The Apple-Nvidia relationship evolved from a major hardware partnership into a long-running corporate rivalry.

Nvidia’s GPUs were central to Mac computers in the 2000s. However, Apple moved away from them after what Apple said were a certain series of chips that caused Mac failures, disagreements over product design and control, licensing conflicts, and Apple’s broader strategy of reducing dependence on outside chip suppliers.

By 2015, Apple had transitioned to GPUs from Advanced Micro Devices, and in 2020, it launched Apple Silicon, integrating its own GPU designs and eliminating dependence on third-party graphics vendors for most Macs. 

Unlike Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Google, Apple has largely avoided becoming a major direct buyer of Nvidia’s AI chips, instead relying on rented Nvidia GPU capacity through cloud providers and Google’s TPUs for some AI training workloads.

Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, believes the development appears to be a win for Nvidia. 

“Awwww, Apple and Nvidia are friends again. Nvidia won that standoff for sure. It’s been a while since I remember Apple capitulating after a decade-or-so-long grudge. It just demonstrates the value and power and opportunity Nvidia holds with its tech,” Moorhead wrote on X.

Apple’s Siri AI Fails To Lift Stock 

Apple’s WWDC is currently underway and ends on Thursday. Besides Siri AI, the iPhone maker has introduced iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, new AI-powered photo and productivity features, and expanded child-safety controls across its ecosystem.

Notably, Apple shares declined 3.6% on Tuesday and nearly 2% the day before. Among other things, investors appeared unimpressed that Apple did not set a firm release date for Siri AI.

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘bullish’ for AAPL and ‘bearish’ for NVDA. Their shares are up 7% and 12% year to date, respectively.

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