Joe Tsai, the new Chairman of Alibaba, announced on Thursday that the company will enter into a partnership with Apple to enhance AI capabilities for iPhones sold in the Chinese market.
This announcement led to a surge in Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares by more than 9%, reaching their highest level in three years.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Tsai stated:اضافة اعلان
"They spoke with several companies in China, and in the end, they chose to work with us. They want to use our AI to power their phones. We are honored to collaborate with a great company like Apple."
Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 9.2% to 124.3 HKD, marking their highest level since January 2022.
Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment.
This partnership comes at a critical time for Apple, which has been facing declining iPhone sales in China due to growing competition from local companies, especially Huawei.
Industry analysts point out that the lack of advanced AI features—now a key selling point for modern smartphones—has placed Apple at a disadvantage in the Chinese market.
In 2024, Apple suffered a major setback in China, losing its position as the country's top smartphone vendor.
According to market research firm Canalys, Apple’s annual shipments in China dropped by 17%, allowing local manufacturers to surpass it.
- Vivo secured the top spot with a 17% market share.
- Huawei came in second with 16%.
- Apple fell to third place with a 15% market share.
Since the beginning of 2025, Alibaba has become the preferred choice for AI investors in China, with its stock price rising more than 40% so far this year.
In late January, Alibaba launched a new version of its AI model, "Qwen 2.5," claiming it outperforms DeepSeek-V3 in both capability and cost-efficiency, creating significant buzz in the AI market. - Agencies
