TechCheck Apple bets big on Gemini, plus Meta’s new President 1/12/26
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Jan 12, 2026 
Deirdre Bosa, a tech correspondent known for her insights on major tech players, discusses Apple’s groundbreaking decision to integrate Google’s Gemini AI into Siri. She explains the implications of this move and how it intensifies competition with ChatGPT. Bosa also analyzes Meta's aggressive infrastructure spending and the strategic hiring of Dina Powell McCormick, emphasizing the challenges this creates amidst its ambitions in AI. Tune in for an enlightening look into the future of tech as Apple and Meta navigate their evolving landscapes.
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Meta's Costly Hyperscaler Shift
- Meta is spending aggressively on infrastructure and its cost structure now looks closer to a hyperscaler than a high-margin social company.
- That strategy raises execution risk because Meta lacks cloud revenue to offset massive capex and must prove returns beyond ad gains.
Finance Infrastructure With Sophisticated Vehicles
- Use financing structures like joint ventures, SPVs, and long-dated operating leases to push costs off your balance sheet when scaling infrastructure.
- Hire executives with sovereign and capital-raising experience to structure large pools of capital and clear political paths for projects.
Apple Opts To Own Users, Not Models
- Apple chose to outsource the most capital-intensive AI layer by licensing Google's Gemini for Siri instead of building heavy infrastructure.
- That choice highlights a platform trade-off: own the user and data or own the underlying model and infrastructure.