Apple is playing the AI field in China, too, working with both Baidu and Alibaba

Apple doesn’t want to get tied down when it comes to AI. The Information reports that the iPhone maker is continuing to work with search engine and AI chatbot company Baidu to develop the AI functionality on its phones in China. That’s after news it’s also working with Chinese e-commerce and AI company Alibaba to do the same thing.

The Baidu partnership involves “developing an AI-powered search feature that can handle images and text and upgrades to the Chinese version of Siri voice assistant,” The Information said, citing two people with direct knowledge.

Meanwhile, Alibaba is still talking up its relationship with Apple.

“Apple has been very selective. They talked to a number of companies in China, and in the end they choose to do business with us,” Alibaba Chairman Joseph Tsai told an interviewer at a conference in Dubai today. “They want to use our AI to power their phones.”

Apple has had to pair with local companies in order to sate Chinese regulation and offer its full suite of AI features in the country.

For Apple’s part, it’s also been playing the field in the US, offloading some of its Apple Intelligence capabilities to OpenAI’s ChatGPT rather than keeping its AI exclusively in-house. Apple has also discussed partnering with other AI companies like Google. The strategy has helped Apple avoid a lot of the capital expenditure outlays of its biggest tech competitors. It also helped Apple avoid the AI tech company rout last month by ultimately not making it much of an AI tech company.

For what it’s worth, shares of Apple, Alibaba, and Baidu are up today — but Baidu is up the most.