Apple reportedly struck a deal with Shutterstock to license its massive library of images and videos to train its AI models. The precise deal value remains unclear, but estimates suggest a range of $25 million-$50 million.
As a part of the licensing, Apple will gain access to millions of images and videos in Shutterstock’s library.
Apple is not the only company paying for access to licensed content
AI models need large datasets for training. Most companies have been scrapping public content off the internet, which could eventually land them in legal trouble. Tech giants building AI models are also reaching out to companies with access to copyrighted content.
The Reuters report indicates Apple signed a licensing deal with Shutterstock after ChatGPT’s release in late 2022 for anywhere between $25-$50 million. Its not the only one though, as other companies have also sealed such deals with various platforms.
Shutterstock is a popular provider of stock photos, footage, music, and editing tools. Millions of photographers upload their content on the platform so others can use it in exchange for a licensing fee.
This year’s WWDC24 could be all about AI
Unlike Google and Microsoft, Apple has not announced any major AI-powered features yet. This is despite the company’s conversational AI efforts starting at least four years ago. WWDC24 should change everything, where Apple will unveil all the AI features it has been working on.
Apple executive Greg Josiwak teased the imminent AI announcements when he announced the WWDC24 dates in a post on X in late March.
Mark your calendars for #WWDC24, June 10-14. It’s going to be Absolutely Incredible! pic.twitter.com/YIln5972ZD
— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) March 26, 2024
A recent report suggests Apple could partner with Google or OpenAI to offer generative AI features on iPhones. Such a partnership will help the company avoid the high cost of powering such cloud-based features and licensing issues.
However, Apple will seemingly rely on its own AI models for all on-device AI processing and where user data is involved. The iPhone 16’s A-series chip might get an upgraded Neural Engine to handle the additional processing of AI features. Siri should also benefit from AI integration, which should (hopefully) make it a lot smarter and usable.
