Apple and Alibaba have entered into a strategic partnership to jointly develop customized artificial intelligence (AI) features for iPhone users in China, according to The Information. It is said that Apple and Alibaba have submitted jointly developed Chinese AI features to China's cyber regulator for approval.
Apple reported its 2024 Q4 results at the end of last month, and while the company's quarterly revenue, profit and gross margin all hit record highs, it did not perform well in the Greater China market. Therefore, the move is part of Apple's strategy to counter declining sales in China and to offer more attractive features.
Apple has been testing different AI models from well-known Chinese AI developers since 2023, choosing Baidu as its main partner last year. However, the partnership was cancelled because Baidu's progress in developing Apple Intelligence models did not meet Apple's standards. In recent months, Apple has begun evaluating models developed by Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba and Deepseek.
For Alibaba, the cooperation is the first attempt to integrate its AI technology into the world's top hardware ecosystem. The advantages of Alibaba's self-developed hundred-billion parameter model and e-commerce data will be fully utilized in the cooperation. This will help Alibaba open up new growth sources in the intelligent terminal service market and further enhance its position in the global AI industry.