On March 22, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had held preliminary conversations with Baidu to discuss using the company’s generative artificial intelligence technology in Chinese devices, which may be to meet the artificial intelligence needs of iPhone users in mainland China. The U.S. tech giant has been looking for ways to leverage external partners to accelerate its artificial intelligence development.
Apple has previously held talks with companies such as Google and OpenAI, hoping to use their technology to enhance mobile device functions such as voice assistants, photo editing and email.
People familiar with the matter said that Apple has been looking for generative artificial intelligence model providers in China. Currently, Chinese regulatory agencies have approved more than 40 generative artificial intelligence models, and "Wen Xin Yiyan" is one of them.
Previously, it was reported that Apple is discussing with Google to add Google’s “Gemini” model to its upcoming iOS18 system to support some generative artificial intelligence functions. At the same time, Apple has also had relevant contacts with OpenAI.
Earlier this month, Apple said it had doubled its research and development team in China over the past five years and would open a new research and testing lab for its iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro product lines. The company is hiring engineers and sales representatives to prepare for the launch of VisionPro in China.
According to people familiar with the matter, discussions between Apple and Baidu are still in the exploratory stage. It's unclear whether Apple has reached out to other Chinese generative AI companies.
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