Bloomberg Tech Podcast Summary

Episode: Apple Picks Gemini to Run AI-Powered Siri

Date: January 12, 2026
Hosts: Caroline Hyde (NYC), Ed Ludlow (SF)

Overview

This episode delivers a deep dive into Apple’s game-changing decision to integrate Google’s Gemini AI model into Siri, implications for tech sector competition, and the broader AI infrastructure and investment landscape. The show interweaves financial market reactions, pharmaceutical sector AI innovations, robotics news, and EV industry developments, presenting a comprehensive look at technology’s rapid evolution and its ripple effects across other industries.

Key Segments & Insights

1. Apple Chooses Gemini for Siri—A New Era in Big Tech Collaboration

[02:43, 27:01]

• Breaking News: Apple announced it will use Google’s Gemini model to power Siri starting this year, a deal reported as $1 billion annually—primarily as an interim measure until Apple finalizes its in-house models.
• Market Impact: Immediate spike in Apple and Alphabet share prices; Alphabet briefly surpassed $4 trillion market cap.
• Industry Read-Through: The move is seen as both a marker of Big Tech’s AI arms race and a pragmatic step for Apple to catch up in conversational AI.

"Apple has selected Google's Gemini model to power Siri this year, reporting from CNBC, citing an Apple statement. You can see a big reaction in the stock the moment the headlines hit."
— Caroline Hyde, [02:43]

• Deal Details: Confirmation of a multi-year agreement with Apple paying for use of Gemini’s massive (1.2 trillion parameter) model—building on earlier Bloomberg reporting.

"We've had confirmation from Google that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Apple for Gemini to be the underpinnings of the next gen AI Siri."
— Ed Ludlow, [27:01]

2. Nvidia x Eli Lilly: AI Investments in Drug Discovery

[03:28, 04:27]

• Deal: Nvidia and Eli Lilly co-investing $1 billion over five years to build a Silicon Valley lab for AI-driven drug discovery, signifying AI’s physical applications.
• Context: Builds on past partnership for an AI supercomputer (October); early-stage, focused on hard-to-treat diseases and gene therapies.
• Expert View: Portfolio manager Danny Fish highlights this as a natural extension for Nvidia, broadening AI’s impact beyond digital products.

“If you think about drug discovery and what that means for society, just think about how far we've come with autonomous driving... Nvidia has some of the best talent in the world. These partnerships with market leaders make a ton of sense.”
— Danny Fish, Janus Henderson, [05:03]

3. The AI Infrastructure Boom: Costs, Capacity, and Market Effects

[07:33, 09:34]

• AI Expansion: Significant, ongoing market-wide investments in AI infrastructure—data centers, chips, power agreements—estimated at $3–7 trillion through 2030.
• Who Pays?: Hyperscalers (Big Tech cloud providers) drive most funding, offset by their massive free cash flows. Deployment is naturally limited by complexity (labor, energy), unlike the rapid dot-com buildout.

“This is hard. You look at what's going on at Stargate and Abilene, Texas... trying to put up 10 gigawatts, the labor, the power, the expertise—it's a heavy lift.”
— Danny Fish, [09:34]

• Supply-Demand: Demand for Nvidia and AMD chips still outpaces supply, supporting high pricing and profitability, especially in inference hardware.

4. Media Mega-Merger Drama: Paramount, Warner Bros, Netflix

[12:25, 13:19]

• Legal Battles: Paramount sues for more information and ramps up a proxy fight to block a Warner Bros–Netflix merger.
• Bid Details: Netflix offer is $27/share (studios, streaming); Paramount counters at $30/share for all assets.
• Industry Implications: Cable asset valuation and regulatory approval are central hurdles.

"They're choosing to raise the hostility versus raising their bid... This continues to just get more and more hostile."
— Felix Gillette, Bloomberg, [13:33]

5. Deep Seek’s Hedge Fund Windfall and China AI Progress

[15:03, 16:03]

• Deep Seek: Chinese AI lab’s founder’s quant fund returned 57% last year, giving ample reinvestment capital.
• Competitive Landscape: Deep Seek claims similar model performance to OpenAI at a fraction of cost; poised for aggressive expansion.

6. EV Global Trade & Tesla’s Autonomy Competition

[19:50, 21:56]

• EV Tariffs: EU considering minimum pricing for Chinese EVs (rather than tariffs), balancing climate goals with trade contention.
• US Market: Bipartisan resistance keeps Chinese EVs out, except through subsidiaries like Volvo/Polestar; US consumers see tech differences abroad.
• Autonomy Showdown: Nvidia powers Mercedes’ new hands-free vehicle stack, leading to fresh competition with Tesla’s FSD.

“I think the Tesla stack is the most advanced AV stack in the world... But Mercedes will ship a vehicle this quarter capable of point-to-point hands free using Nvidia technology.”
— Jensen Wang (via Ed Ludlow), [22:08–22:40]

7. Outlook for US EV Market (2026)

[24:57]

• Forecast: 2025 ended with slight decline in EV sales; 2026 will bring 20+ new models, but affordability remains a key challenge (60% cost $65k+).

8. Lux Capital’s $1.5B Frontier Tech Fund

[29:42]

• Fund Focus: Physical and computational sciences, robotics, defense, and biological AI; focus shifting from 2D to 3D (physical world).
• Investment Philosophy: From check sizes as small as $100k up to $100m, focus on scaling AI into real-world, non-digital sectors.

"90% of US GDP is not digitally native... The opportunity really exists for technology investors focused on software, data, other very specific areas that now have the opportunity to basically 10x [TAM]."
— Peter Aberd, Lux Capital, [32:23]

9. Robotics Breakthrough: 1X’s "World Model" for Neo

[38:03, 39:07, 41:30]

• Update: 1X Technologies updates their humanoid robot Neo, enabling it to learn new tasks via simple prompts—even without task-specific training data.
• Humanlike Embodiment: Designing robots that mimic human form/function enables better transfer of video-trained behaviors.
• Safety Layering: Multi-level safety—hardware compliance, environmental sensitivity, and active AI self-assessment.

“It's not AGI yet, but what it does is the ability to have this very sensible approach to anything, which is the cornerstone of learning.”
— Bernt Øivind Børnich, CEO 1X Technologies, [39:08]

10. Tech Policy & Consumer Finance

[45:48]

• US President Calls for Credit Card Interest Cap: 10% annual cap proposed, but legal instruments unclear; fintechs see opportunity, stocks react.
• Fintech Exec Response: SoFi CEO Anthony Noto called the prospect "giddy up" for their business.

Notable Quotes

• On Apple-Google AI Deal:
  "Confirmation of a multi-year agreement... Google will be the underpinnings of the next-gen Siri." — Ed Ludlow, [27:01]

• On AI Infrastructure:
  "Deployment of capital is going to be pretty measured.... This is hard, unlike the dot-com era." — Danny Fish, [09:34]

• On Robotics Safety:
  "You want to do this task in a manner that is as safe as possible? The model actively reasons about like, hey, here are the things that could go wrong." — Bernt Øivind Børnich, [41:30]

• On Physical AI Opportunity:
  "Approximately 90% of U.S. GDP is not digitally native. That’s $30 trillion." — Peter Aberd, [32:23]

Timestamps by Segment

| Topic/Guest | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|-------------| | Apple Picks Gemini for Siri | 02:43, 27:01| | Nvidia & Eli Lilly AI Drug Lab | 03:28-04:36 | | AI Infrastructure Costs/Market | 07:33-09:34 | | Paramount vs. Netflix/Warner Merger | 12:25-13:33 | | Deep Seek's Hedge Fund Performance | 15:03-16:26 | | China-EU/US EV Trade | 19:50-21:56 | | US Autonomous Driving, Mercedes vs Tesla | 22:08-23:08 | | 2026 US EV Market Outlook | 24:57 | | Lux Capital’s New Fund - Peter Aberd | 29:42-35:26 | | 1X Neo Robot/AI World Model (Børnich) | 38:03-44:14 | | Credit card interest cap news | 45:48-47:08 |

Tone

Conversational and dynamic, reflecting ongoing market excitement, exuberant tech optimism, and a grounded awareness of the practical hurdles facing these ambitious advancements.

Bottom Line

This episode is a must-listen for anyone tracking the central players and trends in AI, from Apple’s and Google’s strategic tie-up and Nvidia’s relentless expansion, to the new breed of robotics and the evolving regulatory landscape. The show outlines the innovation arms race and its socioeconomic impact, while also spotlighting opportunities and challenges facing both investors and consumers.