Apple is suddenly re-engaging critical supply chain nodes in China, from trying to source DRAM and NAND directly from CXMT and YMTC, respectively, to making Alibaba's Qwen AI model available to its userbase in China under the Apple Intelligence umbrella.
Now, a curious tidbit suggests that Apple has hired Alibaba's original team tasked with creating an open-source version of Qwen, presumably in a bid to improve its own Siri AI offering in China.
Apple has apparently hired the OG open-source Qwen AI team, as it continues to eye CXMT and YMTC for precious memory chips
According to the AI analyst and ex-Microsoft veteran, Robert Scoble, Apple has apparently hired the original Qwen team that was tasked with preparing an open-source version of the Qwen AI model.
While we've received no independent confirmation of this tidbit, the move does make sense for Apple, especially as it is already deepening its partnership with Alibaba, going so far as to allow users in China the facility to access the Qwen family of AI models directly from Apple devices.
As we noted at the time, this integration is likely to work in a similar manner to how Apple users are able to access ChatGPT right now via the Apple Intelligence wrapper.
According to an Alibaba spokesperson, Qwen's integration with Apple Intelligence allows for accessing the model’s capabilities, "like text and image understanding and generation, without needing to jump between tools."
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Apple's new Siri is now built into the Dynamic Island, has access to personalized context, and remains aware of on-screen content.
For instance, you can now ask Siri AI about an upcoming concert and add the corresponding date to your Reminders with simple voice commands. It can also tell you what a particular image is about, surface personalized context related to that image - a friend who lives near a park, for instance - and give directions to that friend's residence.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported recently that Apple was lobbying the Trump administration for clearance to buy DRAM from CXMT, which remains on a Pentagon blacklist for its connections to China's People's Liberation Army.
Then, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman chimed in by disclosing that Apple was working with the Trump administration to minimize any blowback in Washington if it does end up procuring memory resources from CXMT and YMTC for its products sold in China.
On a parting note, Alibaba is preparing to launch its Qwen3.8 AI model quite soon, which would presumably dwarf the Kimi K3 in capabilities, and rank as second only to Anthropic's Fable 5. Clearly the age of open-source AI models has arrived.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
