Alibaba co-founder Jack MA delivered a speech in Paris in 2019.
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Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba surged in Hong Kong on Wednesday after the information report said the company was working with Apple to introduce AI features to iPhones sold in China.
The company's shares are listed as dual listings in New York and Hong Kong, with as much as 8.6% in Asian financial hubs. The San Francisco-based commercial publication quoted an anonymous source, saying the two companies had submitted their jointly developed AI services for approval by Chinese regulators.
Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate the American tech giant's Chatgpt into its Apple Intelligence Software Services, a service launched last year that provides iPhone users with more intelligent digital assistants. However, because OpenAI’s chatbots are not readily available in China, many Western technology services have been blocked, so Apple has been looking for local partners in one of the most critical markets.
Apple and Alibaba did not respond to requests for comment. Their partnership is not surprising, Chelsey Tam, a senior Hong Kong stock analyst at research firm Morningstar, wrote in an email.
According to the notes, Tencent, a gaming and social media giant once considered by Apple, was listed on the list of U.S. companies with U.S. military-linked companies earlier this year, which could prevent U.S. companies from working with it. Tiktok parents Bytedance is another Chinese tech giant investing in AI models, yet to address the legal challenges of short video platforms in the United States
Meanwhile, the collaboration with search engine operator Baidu failed because its AI reportedly did not meet Apple's standards. Apple believes DeepSeek is a Chinese AI company whose cost-effective model shocked Silicon Valley, but reportedly concluded the startup lacks the manpower to support large customers like itself.
Alibaba recently released an AI model that, in some ways, says it's better than DeepSeek. 36 Shanghai analyst Charlie Chai, who is a Shanghai analyst at Research, said by Wechat that the partnership with Apple is a “strong recognition” that could lead to more companies working with Alibaba.
“Apple does much more research than any investor,” he said. “So investors will certainly take Apple's vote of trust very seriously.”
