After binding Ali, Apple reached a cooperation with Baidu.

On February 14, the media said that although Apple had reached a cooperation with Alibaba to jointly develop artificial intelligence functions for China iPhone users, it had not terminated its existing cooperation plan with Baidu.It is reported that Baidu is developing an AI search function that can process pictures and text, and is upgrading the Chinese version of Siri's voice assistant. These functions are part of the "Apple Intelligence" suite.

Apple's sales pressure in the China market is the core driving force for this strategic adjustment.In the first quarter of 2024, the iPhone's smartphone market share in China fell to third place, lagging behind local brands such as Huawei and Vivo.In order to reverse the decline, Apple has launched systematic testing of China's local AI models since 2023, initially selecting Baidu as its main partner. However, since the latter's development progress and model performance fell short of expectations, Apple turned to evaluate a number of companies including Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba and DeepSeek.In the end, Alibaba stood out with its outstanding performance of Tongyi Thousand Questions Model (such as ranking seventh in the world in the Chatbot Arena blind test list and ranking first in China's non-inference models) and its comprehensive advantages in computing infrastructure, data security compliance and B-end service capabilities.InvalidParameterValue

On the technical level, Apple's "Apple Intelligence" feature suite is differentially deployed in the China market.Baidu is mainly responsible for the development of image and text AI search functions and upgrades the Chinese version of Siri; while Alibaba may deeply participate in more complex multimodal AI applications, such as intelligent assistant optimization and hardware ecosystem integration based on the Tongyi Thousand Questions model.It is worth noting that Apple did not adopt the "one-of-two" model, but used non-exclusive agreements to bind two leading companies at the same time, which not only avoids the technical bottleneck risk of a single supplier, but also introduces more partners for the future. Reserve space.

The market response to this cooperation was rapid and divided.After the news was announced, Alibaba's Hong Kong stocks rose for two consecutive days, with a cumulative increase of more than 11%, and their market value returned to HK$2.2 trillion. Baidu's share price fell nearly 5% due to market concerns that its core AI business share would be diluted.Volatility in the capital market reflects investors 'optimistic expectations for Ali's technological transformation prospects. If it can leverage the Apple ecosystem to accelerate the commercialization of AI, it may reverse the market's inherent perception of its "e-commerce label" and position itself as a technology giant. Move closer.However, analysts also warned that the short-term stock price boost effect may decay over time, and the long-term value still depends on the implementation effect of cooperation and Alibaba's own continued breakthroughs in AI research and development.InvalidParameterValue

Apple's AI cooperation strategy is essentially a defensive response to the technological offensive of local mobile phone manufacturers in China.Brands such as Huawei and Vivo have already deeply integrated generative AI into hardware. For example, Huawei's Pangu Model supports real-time translation and document generation, while Vivo enhances image processing capabilities through its self-developed Blue Heart Model.If Apple only relies on a globally unified technical solution, it will obviously be difficult to meet the needs of China users for localized scenarios (such as dialect understanding and local service access).By cooperating with Alibaba and Baidu, Apple can not only quickly make up for its shortcomings, but also use its partners 'government relations and compliance experience to cope with China's strict generative AI regulatory approval process.InvalidParameterValue

Looking to the future, Apple's "China AI Alliance" may trigger multiple knock-on effects.For Ali, this cooperation is not only a large-scale verification of its AI To B capabilities, but also provides an entry point for exploring To C scenarios (such as AI mobile phones and smart glasses); for Baidu, although it temporarily ranks second in core model cooperation, its technical accumulation in the fields of search and voice interaction is still irreplaceable.The more far-reaching impact is that Apple's diversified cooperation strategy may reshape the competitive situation in China's AI model market-the technological advantages of leading companies will be further amplified by the giant ecosystem, while small and medium-sized manufacturers may be forced to move to vertical areas or seek mergers and acquisitions integration.InvalidParameterValue