Apple Chooses Alibaba for AI Partnership in China, Says Chairman Joe Tsai

Image Credit: Reuters

Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai announced that the Chinese tech giant will collaborate with Apple to integrate its AI technology into iPhones sold in China. Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Thursday, Tsai shared that Apple approached multiple companies in China before ultimately choosing Alibaba to power its devices with AI. He expressed pride in the partnership, calling it an honor to work with such a renowned company as Apple. Apple has yet to comment on the announcement.

The collaboration is critical for Apple as iPhone sales in China fell during the holiday quarter, typically a peak sales period for the company. While AI features are a key selling point for Apple’s devices in other regions, regulatory requirements in China demand a local partnership to launch such features.

Alibaba's AI technology has gained significant attention, with its stock rising over 40% in 2025. In late January, the company unveiled the Qwen 2.5 AI model, claiming it outperformed the DeepSeek-V3 model that had made waves earlier this year due to its performance and affordability.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author