Apple worked with Alibaba to develop its own artificial intelligence (AI) model tailored to the Chinese market, Reuters reported on the 14th, citing multiple anonymous sources.
Alibaba is said to have supported not only model development but also the training process. Apple shifted strategy from its earlier plan to apply AI models built by Chinese corporations directly to the iPhone to building an independent model.
The new model is expected to be offered within months through an iOS update that includes Apple Intelligence, pending approval by Chinese authorities. If the launch goes through, Apple will become the first foreign corporations to serve its own AI model in China. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) last month registered Apple's Generative AI services, paving the way for Apple Intelligence to be loaded onto iPhones sold in China.
The previous approval plan included applying Alibaba's "Qwen" to China-only iPhones, iPads, Macs and Vision Pro and using Baidu's technology as well. Apple recently posted instructions for Mac users in China on how to consolidation Qwen with Siri and a document authoring tool, then deleted them without further explanation. It is not yet clear how Apple will run its own model alongside local firms' technologies.
Unable to apply U.S.-made AI to products in China, Apple has struggled as it lost ground to local players such as Huawei that front-loaded AI features. The two companies' cooperation was first confirmed in Feb. 2025 when Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai disclosed the matter at the World Governments Summit. Apple and Alibaba have not issued an official position on the report.