Baidu reportedly set to become Apple’s generative AI model provider in China

On Monday, Chinese state media outlet Cailian Press reported Baidu was set to become Apple’s local generative AI model provider for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other devices later this year.

Jiahui Huang for The Wall Street Journal:
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Baidu shares climbed 5.4% on Monday. [Apple shares declined 0.83%.]

“If it does come true, it would be a perfect branding campaign for Baidu and its AI product, Ernie Bot,” Nomura analyst Jialong Shi told Dow Jones Newswires.

The Chinese search-engine company’s efforts to develop AI have exceeded analysts’ expectations, with faster-than-anticipated monetization, analyst Ann Romain from the Zephirin Group said in a research note.

Daiwa analyst John Choi said the potential partnership with Apple would help Baidu further monetize its AI initiatives. “Recognition from a global tech powerhouse like Apple” would give Baidu the edge it needs to stay above its Chinese competitors, Nomura’s Shi said.

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MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote last week:

One benefit of Apple missing the boat on generative AI is that if they’re forced to license while they catch up, they can always blame Google, Baidu, etc. for any questionable results delivered on Apple devices with simple badges stating, “Powered by the CIA, er, Google Gemini” and “Powered by the CCP, er, Baidu Ernie.”
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