Alibaba Soars as Apple Clears AI Hurdle in China

Alibaba's stock surged more than 5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after a Bloomberg report revealed that Apple has been cleared to integrate Qwen AI with its Apple Intelligence services in China. This move paves the way for the iPhone maker to offer AI services in the largest smartphone market, where Alibaba's technology will power the experience across Apple's products.

According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, Apple's generative AI services have been added to a list of newly approved providers, which includes offerings from local giants like Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. This approval clears a major roadblock for Apple, which has been seeking clearance since its official rollout in 2024.

The integration will allow users in China to access Qwen AI's capabilities across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices. Alibaba spokesperson said that Qwen AI will be available for text and image recognition and generation, providing a boost to the Chinese company's technology.