The frenzy over Chinese artificial intelligence is turning Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. into an investor favorite again, injecting new life into an e-commerce giant that had nearly sunk into obscurity following a years-long regulatory crackdown.

CEO Tim Cook attributed the recent 11% drop in iPhone sales in China to the lack of Apple Intelligence, while local competitors like Huawei moved quickly to fill the gap. In its search for a local AI partner, Apple considered startups such as DeepSeek and ByteDance but ultimately chose Alibaba.

Apple selected Baidu as its main partner last year, but the company's progress in developing models fell short of its standards, the report said.