Apple trained its own AI model for China with help from Alibaba

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Reuters, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter, reports that Apple trained a China-specific large language model with Alibaba's support, departing from its previous strategy of licensing domestic Chinese models (from Baidu or ByteDance) to power AI features on China-market devices. This would make Apple the first US company with a proprietary AI model approved for public deployment in China. China requires AI models to be registered with and cleared by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) before public release. Apple completed that CAC registration for its on-device AI service last month — the final regulatory hurdle before rollout. Apple Intelligence for China is expected 'in the coming months after an iOS update,' according to Reuters' sources. The partnership is strategically significant on multiple dimensions. Apple has faced falling iPhone sales in China where domestic competitors like Huawei market AI features aggressively. Having a proprietary model — rather than a white-labeled domestic one — gives Apple more control over the user experience. The Alibaba collaboration also stands as one of the few high-profile US-China tech partnerships still operational amid escalating geopolitical tension around AI. Apple did not comment to The Verge.