Apple is in early-stage talks with Tencent Holdings and ByteDance in a bid to introduce its Apple Intelligence to mainland China, where the smartphone maker is required to partner with a local AI model provider, Reuters reported on Thursday.
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Apple has faced a slow process in trying to bring its new AI features to mainland iPhone users. The company was previously working with internet search giant Baidu, but that collaboration faced roadblocks owing to disputes over user data, US tech news outlet The Information previously reported. Baidu had sought access to certain iPhone user data to enhance AI performance, a request that violates Apple’s privacy policy, according to the report.
Tencent, Baidu, ByteDance and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Tencent’s share price gained 2.3 per cent in Hong Kong on Thursday, while Nasdaq-listed Baidu fell 2 per cent in pre-trading.
An AI partnership between Tencent and Apple could give a boost to both companies. Tencent launched its foundational AI model, Hunyuan, in September last year, with continuous updates since then. Tencent debuted its Yuanbao AI chatbot in May, trailing behind competitors. In October, Yuanbao’s web platform attracted 1.16 million visits, according to QuestMobile data.
ByteDance, the owner of Douyin and TikTok, has been competing fiercely in AI by lowering the price of its Doubao large model and ramping up advertising for its chatbot, also named Doubao, across Chinese social media platforms. As of October, the web version of Doubao garnered 16.88 million visits, while its app had 48.39 million monthly active users, positioning it as a front-runner in the market, according to QuestMobile.
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ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo, in outlining his objectives for the fourth quarter, said the company would “keep expanding [its] advantage in current key [generative AI] applications” and “reinforce several vertical fields”, the Post reported last week.