Apple Buying News Gathering Rights For $50m To Train Generative AI

By James Ovie

According to the New York Times, Apple has reached agreements with a number of major publishers to train generative AI systems by collecting their relevant news content.

The report states that Apple aims to reach multi-year cooperation agreements with these major publishers and has already contacted Condé Nast, NBC News and IAC.

According to reports, the proposed transaction amount is at least US$50 million (IT House note: currently about 357 million yuan). If the agreement is reached, Apple can collect media content from the above publishers and use it to train generative AI.

According to the New York Times, some publishers were “lukewarm” about Apple’s offer; others were “optimistic” about potential partnerships and were happy for Apple to take the initiative to use their content.

Multiple sources revealed that Apple is working overtime to catch up with competitors in generative AI products. Apple has internally tested the “AppleGPT” chatbot and plans to launch new AI features in iOS 18.

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Information on the three publishers is as follows:

Condé Nast:

Condé Nast, also translated as Condé Nast, is an international periodical publishing group headquartered in New York City, USA. Among its many publications, it includes well-known magazines such as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Temptation, Vogue, Dash, and Modern Bride.

NBC News:

NBC News is the television news division of NBC, one of the major television networks in the United States, and is operated by NBC Universal News Group, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.

NBC News is responsible for NBC Nightly News, the nation’s No. 1-rated evening news program, and Meet the Press, the nation’s longest-running television program.

IAC:

IAC owns publications such as People, The Spruce, Serious Eats, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly and Better Homes & Gardens.