alibaba news, stories and analysis

Apple trains a custom AI model for China with Alibaba

Apple Intelligence China rollout uses a custom LLM trained with Alibaba's Qwen, making Apple the first US firm approved to ship a proprietary AI model in China. The move reshapes how global builders approach the market.

Data Today Markets Desk · Aug 14, 2026

AI

Alibaba Qwen3.8-Max narrows open-weight frontier gap

Qwen3.8-Max is Alibaba's 2.4T open-weight model ranking fifth in text and second in vision on Arena. The gap with US frontier labs narrows but does not close.

Data Today AI Desk · Aug 3, 2026

AI

China AI companion rules split work from emotional agents

China AI companion rules took effect July 15, 2026, forcing ByteDance and Alibaba to shut down companion agent features rather than retrofit compliance.

Data Today AI Desk · Jul 6, 2026