As Apple and Google announce partnership: This 'dinner photo' of Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai goes viral

Apple and Google have officially announced a new partnership, signalling a deeper collaboration between two of the most-influential tech companies. The iPhone maker confirmed it's teaming up with Google to use Gemini models as the foundation for a smarter, more capable Siri arriving later this year. "After careful evaluation, we determined that Google's technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models," Apple said in a joint statement with Google. Amid this announcement, a dinner photo of Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has resurfaced online and is going viral. The image was originally taken years ago Palo Alto, many users also joked that the two leaders had been “cooking up” this collaboration for years.

Viral dinner photo of Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai

As soon as Apple and Google made the announcement that they are teaming up and that Gemini will power Siri, a dinner from 2017 featuring the two CEOs resurfaced online. The photo was taken at the Cheesecake Factory, where the two CEOs were seen chatting over dinner.



While the viral photo added a lighthearted twist, the partnership itself reflects serious strategic intent. Apple has been seeking to bolster its AI offerings, and Google’s Gemini provides a ready solution. For Google, the deal ensures its AI technology reaches hundreds of millions of iPhone users worldwide.


The multi-year deal will see Gemini and Google's cloud infrastructure power not just Siri, but future Apple Intelligence features across the board. Apple insists everything will still run on its devices and Private Cloud Compute servers, keeping its privacy promises intact.

Google scores big as AI competition heats up

For Google, this is validation that its AI efforts are paying off. Alphabet's stock jumped after the announcement, briefly pushing its market cap past $4 trillion and overtaking Apple as the world's second-most valuable company. The search giant launched its Gemini 3 model in November, and CEO Sundar Pichai has been touting massive growth in Google Cloud, which signed more billion-dollar deals in Q3 2025 than the previous two years combined.


Neither company disclosed financial terms, though earlier reports suggested Apple might shell out around $1 billion annually for the privilege.