Alibaba Announces Collaboration with Apple on AI Enhancements
Alibaba has officially announced its partnership with Apple to develop new artificial intelligence features. This collaboration aims to enhance user experience and integrate advanced AI capabilities across their platforms. The details of the partnership highlight both companies' commitment to innovation and improving technological offerings for their consumers.
TroibNews 
Alibaba's Chairman Joe Tsai announced on Thursday that the company will collaborate with Apple on integrating AI technologies into iPhones sold within the Chinese market. This news caused the Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba to surge by over 9 percent, reaching a three-year high.
"They talked to a number of companies in China. In the end, they chose to do business with us. They want to use our AI to power their phones. We feel extremely honored to do business with a great company like Apple," Tsai stated during the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
Following this announcement, Alibaba's shares rose as much as 9.2 percent, reaching HK$124.3, marking their highest point since January 2022.
The partnership comes as Apple is at a pivotal juncture, grappling with declining iPhone sales in China due to increasing competition from local brands, particularly Huawei.
Analysts have highlighted the lack of cutting-edge AI features — a critical selling point for the latest generation of smartphones — as a significant hurdle for Apple in the Chinese market.
In 2024, Apple experienced a major setback in China, losing its position as the leading smartphone vendor in the country.
According to Canalys, a market research firm, Apple's annual shipments in China dropped by 17 percent, allowing domestic competitors to overtake them. Vivo emerged as the leading brand with a 17 percent market share, followed by Huawei at 16 percent, pushing Apple into third place with 15 percent.
In early 2025, Alibaba became a favored AI stock among investors, seeing its share price increase by over 40 percent this year.
In late January, the company launched a new version of its Qwen 2.5 AI model, claiming that its capabilities outperformed those of DeepSeek-V3, which had gained attention earlier this year for its performance and affordability.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
"They talked to a number of companies in China. In the end, they chose to do business with us. They want to use our AI to power their phones. We feel extremely honored to do business with a great company like Apple," Tsai stated during the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
Following this announcement, Alibaba's shares rose as much as 9.2 percent, reaching HK$124.3, marking their highest point since January 2022.
The partnership comes as Apple is at a pivotal juncture, grappling with declining iPhone sales in China due to increasing competition from local brands, particularly Huawei.
Analysts have highlighted the lack of cutting-edge AI features — a critical selling point for the latest generation of smartphones — as a significant hurdle for Apple in the Chinese market.
In 2024, Apple experienced a major setback in China, losing its position as the leading smartphone vendor in the country.
According to Canalys, a market research firm, Apple's annual shipments in China dropped by 17 percent, allowing domestic competitors to overtake them. Vivo emerged as the leading brand with a 17 percent market share, followed by Huawei at 16 percent, pushing Apple into third place with 15 percent.
In early 2025, Alibaba became a favored AI stock among investors, seeing its share price increase by over 40 percent this year.
In late January, the company launched a new version of its Qwen 2.5 AI model, claiming that its capabilities outperformed those of DeepSeek-V3, which had gained attention earlier this year for its performance and affordability.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
