Apple Intelligence approved for launch in China with Alibaba’s Qwen AI
TechCrunch AI Sarah Perez ● Covered by 2 sources
Apple's generative AI service has received regulatory approval to launch in China through a partnership integrating Alibaba's Qwen AI model into iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. Apple's Greater China sales reached $20.5 billion in the second quarter, representing 28% growth year-over-year. The deal enables Apple Intelligence features, which debuted in 2024 globally, to finally become available to Chinese users after previous negotiations with Baidu, DeepSeek, and ByteDance fell through.
Why it matters
The deal, which was rumored to be in the works last year, marks an important step for Apple's AI ambitions in a key market.
