Apple CEO Tim Cook has praised the artificial intelligence models developed by Chinese start-up DeepSeek, as the company moves closer to launching Apple Intelligence on the Chinese mainland pending regulatory approval, the South China Morning Post reports.
Speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing, a state-organized annual event designed to attract global investment, Cook reportedly referred to DeepSeek's AI models as "excellent." He did not elaborate on whether Apple would pursue a partnership with the company. Cook previously commented during Apple's January earnings call that "innovation that drives efficiency is a good thing," in reference to AI companies like DeepSeek, which have been able to deliver impressive performance with lower cost and compute requirements.
DeepSeek has been praised for developing large language models that achieve comparable results to those from U.S. firms such as OpenAI, while requiring significantly fewer resources. The firm claims that its R1 model was developed in just two months with a total cost of $5.6 million.
In February, it was reported that Apple had reached an agreement with Alibaba Group to integrate the Chinese conglomerate's Qwen models into Apple Intelligence for mainland users. The company is also believed to be in talks with Baidu to serve as an additional provider of large language models for the Chinese market.
In addition to his comments on AI, Cook announced plans to expand Apple's cooperation with the China Development Research Foundation, alongside continued investments in clean energy development. Throughout his visit, Cook posted updates on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, showcasing a range of Apple products being used in classrooms, creative environments, and more.
Cook's comments mark a continuation of Apple's intensified focus on the Chinese market at a time when the company is facing declining iPhone shipments and heightened competition from domestic brands. Apple's smartphone shipments in China are believed to have fallen by 25% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, while annual shipments dropped 17% to 42.9 million units, placing Apple behind local competitors Vivo and Huawei.
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