Alibaba’s stock jumped 4% after China approved its Qwen AI model to run Apple Intelligence across Apple devices. This includes iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. The Cyberspace Administration gave the green light alongside approvals for Huawei’s AI services.
The approval is a big deal for both companies. It lets Apple integrate Alibaba’s Qwen model deeply into its AI offerings. An Alibaba spokesperson said, “Qwen will be integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences.” This means users will get smarter AI features powered by Qwen right on their devices.
Here’s the technical trick behind it. Qwen started as a 54GB AI model. PrismML, a spinout from Caltech backed by Khosla Ventures, shrunk it to under 4GB. This compression lets all 27 billion parameters run on an iPhone 15 or newer without cloud help. Running AI models on-device improves privacy and reduces lag.
Alibaba’s US-listed shares rose 3.7% on the news, reflecting investor confidence. The deal between Apple and Alibaba began in February 2025. The approval took over a year because of strict content filtering and security reviews. Apple first announced its AI suite in 2024, but the rollout faced delays.
Deeper Ties Between Alibaba and Honor at WAIC
Alibaba is also teaming up with Honor, the Chinese smartphone maker. They plan to deepen their partnership on an operating system for AI-powered devices. This collaboration will be announced at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.
Honor will host a sub-forum called “From digital screens to embodied intelligence.” Alibaba Cloud posted about helping “define a new model of embodied interaction” through Honor’s Robot Phone. This phone features a foldable robotic gimbal arm and was unveiled in March at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Xu Zhuhong, head of multimodal interaction at Alibaba’s Token Foundry, is likely involved in this effort. Honor’s CEO, Li Jian, is leading the charge on these innovative AI devices. The partnership shows Alibaba’s push to tie AI models with hardware innovations in China.
Apple’s AI Strategy and Industry Moves
Apple’s shares hit an all-time high recently, up over 20% in three months. Investors appreciate Apple’s cautious AI approach. The company focuses on making money by selling devices and AI services, not just chasing massive data centers like Microsoft or Amazon.
Apple controls 2.5 billion active devices worldwide. This gives it a strong position to monetize AI directly on users’ phones, tablets, and computers. Unlike some hyperscalers, Apple hasn’t invested heavily in data centers. Instead, it leans on on-device AI and its secure ecosystem.
Apple is also in a legal battle with OpenAI. It accuses OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. The lawsuit caused communication between the companies to break down after a lawyer mixed up staffers’ last names. Meanwhile, Alibaba banned employees from using Anthropic’s Claude AI. Meta, another big tech player, had to unwind a $2 billion acquisition of Manus after Beijing ordered it stopped.
These moves show how China is shaping AI development tightly. Approvals, partnerships, and legal battles all happen within strict regulatory limits. Alibaba’s win with Qwen on Apple devices is a milestone in this evolving landscape.
In summary, Alibaba’s Qwen model now powers AI features on Apple devices in China. The model’s small size lets it run fully on iPhones 15 and newer. Alibaba’s partnership with Honor will push AI hardware further. Apple’s cautious AI bets and legal fights keep the tech world watching closely.
Based on
- Alibaba stock jumps 4% after Qwen is approved to run Apple Intelligence in China — thenextweb.com
- Alibaba to team up with Honor in race to build AI agentic devices | South China Morning Post — scmp.com
- Wall Street warms to Apple’s AI strategy — axios.com
- Another turn in the Apple v. OpenAI dispute. | The Verge — theverge.com
- DeepSeek reportedly weighs IPO amid zeal for Chinese low-cost tech | Semafor — semafor.com
