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Investing.com -- Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) rose 3.7% in premarket trading following a report from The Information that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is continuing its partnership with the Chinese tech giant to develop artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China.
According to The Information, Baidu is working on an AI-powered search feature that can handle images and text, as well as upgrades to the Chinese version of Siri.
These developments are said to be part of Apple’s broader Apple Intelligence initiative, which has already been rolled out in the U.S. and other markets but has yet to launch in China.
Apple’s reliance on Baidu stems from regulatory requirements in China, which mandate that foreign firms partner with local companies to develop AI applications for consumers, said The Information.
However, Apple has also been working with Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), with Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai confirming the partnership last week at a conference in Dubai.
Apple’s dual partnerships with Baidu and Alibaba suggest the company is taking a non-exclusive approach to AI development in China.
The reported move comes as Apple faces growing competition from domestic smartphone makers like Huawei and Vivo, which have been rapidly advancing their own AI capabilities.
Apple Intelligence integrates both Apple’s proprietary AI models and external partnerships, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with plans to expand to other AI providers such as Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the future, The Information reported.