U.S. tech giants Google and Apple on Monday announced a multi-year partnership that will see Apple integrate Google's advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model, Gemini, into its next-generation Siri voice assistant, which is set to launch later this year.
Under the agreement, Apple will leverage Google's Gemini AI model and cloud infrastructure to power its foundational AI systems. While neither company has disclosed specific financial or technical details of the landmark deal, the news sent shares of Alphabet, Google's parent company, soaring.
Alphabet hit a major financial milestone on Monday with its market valuation reaching 4 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time, which saw it overtaking Apple to become the second-most valuable company in the world, trailing behind only Nvidia, the California-based tech firm specialized in graphics processing units (GPUs) and chip systems.
It means Alphabet has now become the fourth company to hit the 4-trillion-U.S.-dollar milestone after Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple.
Alphabet has enjoyed considerable growth in recent months and saw its shares surge some 65 percent during 2025, making it the best-performing company among the so-called Magnificent Seven, a group of high-performing and influential stocks in the U.S. tech sector which also includes Amazon, Meta and Tesla.
Google, Apple forge landmark AI partnership as Alphabet joins 4 trln dollar club
Chicago policymakers have introduced measures to increase housing supply, in a move that local activists and construction industry stakeholders have hailed as key to easing affordability pressures on residents.
According to the city's 2025 annual report on homelessness, Chicago is facing its largest gap in affordable and available housing in a decade, with the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count estimating that 7,452 people were experiencing homelessness, either in shelters or unsheltered locations, on January 23, 2025.
Steven Vance, a social worker in Chicago, said policies that previously curbed the city's housing supply have pushed up rent costs amid demographic changes.
"Households are declining in size, and that means we need more homes, and I thought it was strange that we would artificially restrict how many homes could get built in Chicago. Right now in Chicago, we have one of the highest rent growths, compared year to year in the country, and so now is a pivotal time to allow more housing," he said.
To address the challenge, Chicago has introduced zoning and land-use reforms, including the Additional Dwelling Units (ADU) Ordinance, aimed at increasing residential density and expanding housing supply.
The ordinance effectively expands housing access across the city by allowing ADUs in attics, basements, and accessory buildings, easing the rent burden and creating more budget-friendly housing options.
"In December 2020, City Council adopted an ordinance that would legalize ADUs in five pilot areas. (With ADU,) rents will maybe not always come down, but they will not climb as quickly as they are now if we have more housing options," he said.
The construction sector in the city has welcomed the policy change, with builders jumping on the opportunity to create new structures. For many in the industry, boosting housing supply is not just about doing business, but about addressing the issue of affordability as Chicago residents themselves.
"The housing market in Chicago has been impacted by the ADU program, to me, in a really big way. It's enabled a lot more rental projects to be constructed. I want there to be more housing in Chicago. I think there is a need for that, and I think there's also a need for responsible development that maintains the character of the neighborhood. Affordable housing to me is a really important issue, and to me, the biggest denominator in affordable housing is the lack of supply. The best route to affordable housing is to have an influx of housing," said Nick Serra, a construction professional.
Chicago expands housing supply to ease affordability pressure
