Apple CEO Visits China's AI Hub

Apple CEO Tim Cook has recently toured China’s artificial intelligence hub, Hangzhou, which is known for hosting DeepSeek. This AI platform, launched this year, has significantly impacted major tech companies with its advanced capabilities, developed at a fraction of the cost compared to others.

In a post shared on his official Weibo account, Cook mentioned that he had the opportunity to meet with a group of "the next generation of developers" at Zhejiang University located in Hangzhou.

During the visit, Apple made a substantial donation of 30 million yuan (approximately A$6.57 million) to the university. Notably, Zhejiang University is the alma mater of DeepSeek's founder Liang Wenfeng, along with Colin Huang, who is associated with PDD Holdings, the parent company of eTemu.

Besides DeepSeek, Hangzhou is home to the Chinese tech giant Alibaba and a number of prominent technology firms known collectively as the “Six Little Dragons.” This group includes startups like Manycore Tech and the humanoid robot manufacturer Unitree Robotics, as reported by Bloomberg.

While Cook was in China, he also had a meeting in Beijing with Chinese Premier Li Qiang as part of his itinerary.

Apple's AI platform, known as Apple Intelligence, has experienced delays in its rollout, particularly in the Chinese market, primarily due to regulatory challenges. Recent reports indicate that Cook has lost some confidence in the capabilities of AI leader John Giannandrea regarding product development. As a response, Apple has appointed Mike Rockwell, the creator of Vision Pro, to oversee Siri's development, effectively removing it from Giannandrea’s responsibilities. Giannandrea will remain with the company, albeit with a different focus.

The company has recognized some of the challenges it faces with Apple Intelligence, particularly in integrating it with Siri. Apple mentioned, “We are working on creating a more personalized Siri that understands your personal context better and can perform actions across various applications for you. This process is taking longer than we initially expected, but we plan to introduce these features throughout the coming year.”

Additionally, these delays have resulted in legal challenges in the United States. A recent lawsuit filed in the District Court in San Jose seeks class action status and monetary damages for consumers who purchased AI-enabled iPhones and other iOS devices.

The lawsuit claims, “Apple’s advertisements filled the internet, television, and other platforms, setting clear expectations for consumers that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone’s release.” Specifically, it references the iPhone 16, which was anticipated to deliver leading AI features.

This created considerable excitement in the market, and Apple was well aware of the impact it would have in urging consumers to upgrade at a premium price, distinguishing itself from competitors perceived to be winning in the AI arena.

The lawsuit argues that contrary to Apple’s statements regarding advanced AI capabilities, the products offered only limited or even non-existent features, misleading consumers about their actual performance and utility. It states that Apple promoted its products based on these exaggerated AI features, leading consumers to believe they were buying devices with capabilities that were either non-existent or materially misrepresented.

Apple, AI, China