CUPERTINO, California: Apple has trained its own large language model specifically for China with support from Alibaba, marking a shift from its earlier strategy of relying on third-party models to bring artificial intelligence features to the country, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The model was developed in partnership with Alibaba and trained with the Chinese technology company's support, the people said, declining to be named because the information is sensitive and not public.

Apple's development of its own China-specific model has not previously been reported. The company had leaned toward using models from domestic partners for generative AI features on iPhones and other devices sold in China, where U.S. models including Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT are not available.

Apple and Alibaba did not respond to requests for comment.

Apple Intelligence, the company's suite of AI tools, is expected to launch in China in the coming months following an update to its iOS operating system, the people said.

Having its own China-tailored model would give Apple greater control over the AI experience in a market where it has lost ground to local rivals including Huawei, which have moved quickly to introduce AI-equipped handsets.

The planned rollout would give Apple a dual-track approach to deploying AI in China as it navigates regulatory hurdles that have restricted access for other U.S. technology companies. It would also make Apple the first foreign company approved by Beijing to offer a proprietary AI model in China.

The move follows a lengthy regulatory process that concluded last month when the Cyberspace Administration of China registered Apple's generative AI service, clearing the way for Apple Intelligence to reach Chinese iPhones for the first time.

Under that arrangement, Alibaba's Qwen model is set to be incorporated into Apple Intelligence on compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro devices in China. The service was also set to incorporate technology from Baidu.

Last week, Apple published a Chinese-language guide explaining how eligible Mac users in mainland China could connect Qwen to Siri and its Writing Tools feature. Apple has since deleted the guide without explaining.

Apple's partnership with Alibaba was first confirmed in February 2025 by Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai.

"They talked to a number of companies in China. In the end they chose to do business with us," Tsai said at the time.

The rollout was subsequently delayed as Apple worked to adapt its features to Chinese regulations.

It remains unclear what role Apple's self-trained model will play alongside third-party Chinese models or how the different systems will work together.