Apple has a deal with Shutterstock to license images for AI training

The explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) has created a small economy for content repositories, which large companies training AI want to tap into to train AI models. mine.

Companies like OpenAI initially trained their models by crawling data from the web. However, with legal pressure from copyright threatening, companies are looking to sign agreements to officially license content in the future. Apple is one of them. Reuters reports that Apple has signed a deal to license millions of images owned by Shutterstock, a website that provides images, videos, and audio files to creators.

Apple has a deal with Shutterstock to license images for AI training Picture 1
Photo: Shutterstock

The value of the deal is expected to be around $25-50 million and is said to have been signed in the months following the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Apparently, many other major tech companies have also has signed similar deals with Shutterstock, including Meta, Google and Amazon for AI training.

In a similar vein, it was previously reported that Apple was reaching out to news publishers to license their articles to train its AI models.

In a sign that content shopping for AI has become significant, the New York Times reports that Meta has even discussed acquiring a book publisher like Simon & Schuster.

Apple has a deal with Shutterstock to license images for AI training Picture 2

Although Apple has been seen as a bit of a laggard in terms of artificial intelligence growth recently, the company is looking to change the story soon. iOS 18 is expected to have features created by artificial intelligence to improve the experience for iPhone users. iOS 18 will be officially announced at WWDC, with the official session starting at 10 a.m. PT on June 10.

Apple marketing executive Greg Jozwiak confirmed the AI ​​speculation, in a tweet about the event. He said that WWDC will be Truly Awesome.

What is Shutterstock?

For those who don't know, Shutterstock is one of the leading websites that offers popular images, videos, vectors and music for use in creative projects. Founded in 2003, Shutterstock quickly became a source of high-quality content for graphic designers, publishers, advertisers, and many other industries.

Apple has a deal with Shutterstock to license images for AI training Picture 3

This site offers millions of images and videos from photographers and filmmakers around the world. Users can search and purchase these digital artworks for use in personal or commercial projects.

Shutterstock also offers monthly or annual subscription services for creators, allowing them to access a large number of image and video assets without having to purchase individual items.

With its diverse collection and convenient services, Shutterstock has become an important resource for designers and filmmakers around the world.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 07 April 2024