Key Highlights
- Apple Intelligence received regulatory approval in China, with Alibaba’s Qwen AI selected as the powering model
- Shares of Alibaba (BABA) climbed more than 5% during premarket hours, reaching $118.64; Apple (AAPL) added nearly 1%
- China’s Cyberspace Administration greenlit seven AI services, including platforms from Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi
- Chinese users will access Qwen AI functionality across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, supporting text and image capabilities
- Sources indicate Apple is exploring preliminary discussions with PrismML regarding model compression for on-device iPhone operation starting with iPhone 15
On Wednesday, China’s Cyberspace Administration authorized Apple Intelligence for deployment, placing it on an approved roster of generative AI services that includes Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung, and additional providers.
Alibaba announced that its Qwen AI technology will serve as the engine behind Apple Intelligence for the Chinese market, functioning across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS platforms. The company’s U.S.-traded shares climbed 5.63% in premarket activity to reach $118.64. Apple experienced a gain approaching 1%.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA
The regulatory clearance concludes an extended waiting period dating back to 2024, when Apple initially introduced its AI platform. The technology underwent significant restructuring during this interval, following Apple’s departure from its initial configuration and system reconstruction using Alphabet’s Google Gemini framework before finally selecting Alibaba as its China-market collaborator.
Qwen will enable text and image recognition plus generation capabilities for Chinese iPhone owners. This development brings hundreds of millions of Apple device users into contact with Alibaba’s AI-powered assistant.
Apple has been striving to narrow its competitive distance from Huawei within China, where the company has encountered mounting challenges in recent years. The AI deployment represents a critical component of that strategic initiative.
For Alibaba, this collaboration establishes a substantial new avenue for distribution. While Qwen has already been embedded within Taobao, Tmall, and additional Alibaba properties, direct access to iPhone users represents an entirely different magnitude of market reach.
Apple Explores On-Device AI Model Compression
CNBC disclosed on Tuesday that Apple has entered preliminary conversations with PrismML, a Caltech-originated company supported by Khosla Ventures, regarding compression capabilities that could reduce Alibaba’s open-source Qwen 3.6 model from approximately 54 GB down to below 4 GB.
Should this compression prove viable, it would enable a 27-billion-parameter model to operate completely on an iPhone 15 or more recent device, eliminating cloud connectivity requirements.
“They’re really evaluating our technology right now. Things are progressing nicely,” PrismML CEO Babak Hassibi told CNBC.
Release Timeline Remains Unannounced
Neither Apple nor Alibaba has disclosed a specific timeframe for when these AI capabilities will begin rolling out to devices following the regulatory authorization.
The approval positions Apple alongside prominent domestic Chinese technology corporations. Doubao, Vivo BlueOnDevice, and Oppo AndesGPT were also included among the seven platforms authorized in this regulatory cycle.
Alibaba has been expanding Qwen’s integration throughout its own platform ecosystem while establishing Alibaba Cloud as foundational infrastructure supporting China’s AI industry. The Apple partnership amplifies that strategy with significant visibility.
As of 5:00 am ET Wednesday, Alibaba’s shares were changing hands at $118.64, marking a 5.63% increase from the previous trading session’s close.
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