Alphabet market value hits $4T for first time as Google, Apple ink multi-year AI collaboration deal

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and one of the leading US technology firms, saw its market value reach $4 trillion for the first time on Monday, driven by gains in its share price following positive developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

Alphabet shares rose 1.6% to $334.44 after US markets opened, as of 1525 GMT, marking an all-time high and pushing the company's market capitalization beyond the $4 trillion threshold.

With this milestone, Alphabet became the fourth company to exceed a $4 trillion valuation, joining Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple.

APPLE, GOOGLE INK MULTI-YEAR AI COLLABORATION DEAL

The surge in the company's shares followed an announcement by Apple and Google of a multi-year partnership under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be built on Google's Gemini models and cloud infrastructure.

"These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year," the companies said in a joint statement.

California-based iPhone maker said it determined after "careful evaluation" that Google's AI technology provides the "most capable foundation" for its models.

Apple said its intelligence platform will continue operating on Apple devices and private cloud compute while maintaining its "industry-leading privacy standards." Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The partnership raises questions about Apple's existing AI collaboration with OpenAI announced in July 2024, which integrated ChatGPT into Apple products. It remains unclear whether that agreement will continue or how the two AI partnerships will be integrated.

Despite the milestone, Alphabet currently ranks as the second most valuable company in the US by market capitalization at the prevailing share price, trailing only Nvidia.

Investors have increasingly focused on Alphabet's artificial intelligence capabilities as competition intensifies among major technology firms to dominate next-generation AI-driven products and services.