Alibaba's shares rose after China approved the launch of Apple Intelligence

Alibaba's shares rose approximately 5% in U.S. pre-market trading after China's regulatory authority officially approved the launch of Apple Intelligence in the country. The decision allows Apple to offer artificial intelligence features to Chinese users through Alibaba's Qwen AI model.

At the same time, Apple's shares also strengthened by nearly 1%.

China's Cyberspace Administration added Apple's generative AI services to the list of authorized providers in the country, which already includes local tech companies such as Huawei and Xiaomi.

According to Alibaba, Qwen AI will be available on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS in China, offering users the ability to recognize and generate text and images.

Apple Intelligence was first introduced in 2024, but its rollout in China was delayed by several years due to regulatory requirements. During this period, Apple significantly updated the system and based it on Google Gemini technology.

The new authorization allows Apple to offer AI products in China's massive market and represents an important step for the company to strengthen its competition against Huawei.

On the other hand, Alibaba is actively developing the Qwen ecosystem and integrating it into its own platforms, including Taobao and Tmall. Collaboration with Apple will make Qwen accessible to hundreds of millions of iPhone users.

According to reports, Apple is also negotiating with startup PrismML to significantly compress the Qwen model and enable its full operation on iPhone 15 and newer devices using their internal resources. Apple and Alibaba have not yet specified when the new AI features will be available to users.