Apple develops own AI model for China with Alibaba's help

Apple has trained its own large language model specifically for China with help from Alibaba, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The development marks a shift from Apple’s earlier approach of relying on third-party models for generative AI features on devices sold in China, where U.S. models such as Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are not available. Apple Intelligence is expected to launch in China within months after an iOS update, with the company incorporating Alibaba’s Qwen model into Apple Intelligence on compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro devices. The rollout follows a regulatory process that ended last month when China’s Cyberspace Administration registered Apple’s generative AI service.