Google parent company Alphabet briefly touches a $4 trillion market valuation on Monday, with the tech behemoth’s renewed focus on AI clearly beginning to translate into commercial momentum and high-profile partnerships.

The company’s shares rose as much as 1.7% to a record high of $334.04, before paring back those gains later in the day. Alphabet is now the fourth company to reach a $4 trillion valuation, following Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple, and last week overtook Apple in market capitalisation for the first time since 2019 to become the world’s second most valuable company.

The rally has gone some distance in easing earlier concerns that it had allowed a first-mover advantage to slip. Its shares are up around 65% so far in 2025, outperforming the rest of Wall Street’s so-called Magnificent Seven.

That improved sentiment has been reinforced by a major strategic win announced on the same day, with Apple confirming it will use Google’s Gemini models to power a revamped version of Siri due later this year, giving Alphabet access to Apple’s installed base of more than two billion active devices.

Alphabet moves into AI race pole position

Alphabet had been competing with OpenAI for the agreement, the financial terms of which were not disclosed. Apple had previously integrated ChatGPT into its devices in late 2024, allowing Siri to draw on the chatbot for more complex queries. The decision to base its next-generation AI capabilities on Gemini will no doubt be a sore one for OpenAI.

The deal also builds on existing momentum for Gemini across the consumer electronics market. A Reuters report earlier this year said Samsung Electronics plans to double the number of mobile devices it ships this year with AI features powered by Gemini, following its adoption of the technology for “Galaxy AI”.

At the core of Alphabet’s revival has been the performance of its cloud business, which has emerged as a key growth engine. Google Cloud revenue rose 34% in the third quarter, while its backlog of non-recognised sales contracts climbed to $155 billion, pointing to sustained demand.

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The unit has also accelerated growth by renting out Google’s internally developed AI chips to external customers, rather than reserving them solely for in-house use – with demand for those chips expected to grow further.

Alphabet’s AI progress has also been visible on the product side. The release of its Gemini 3 model has drawn strong reviews, intensifying pressure on OpenAI after GPT-5 left some users underwhelmed.

Beyond this, the company’s dominant advertising business, which remains its primary source of revenue, has continued to perform steadily despite broader economic uncertainty and intense competition in digital advertising markets.