Apple has held initial talks with Chinese tech giant Baidu about using the company’s GenAI in its devices in China, according to a Wall Street Journal report. 

The news comes after Apple is reportedly in talks to deploy Alphabet-owned Google‘s Gemini AI models on every iPhone.

Investors have previously voiced concerns about Apple’s stance in the GenAI race, a race which has been dominated by Microsoft since its partnership with OpenAI. 

Apple is reportedly in active negotiations to use Google’s Gemini AI models to drive its new AI features, which will be fitted into iPhone software in late 2024. 

Apple has reportedly held similar talks with Microsoft-backed ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. A decision is not likely to be made before June, around the time Apple holds its developer conference. 

A GenAI partnership with Baidu and Google could dramatically boost Apple’s standing in the AI race.

China houses strict rules for what AI bots can use for training and how they store user data, which makes it unlikely that Apple would be able to use Google or OpenAI for its AI features in the country.

Samsung recently partnered with Baidu to launch Ernie, its AI chatbot, on its Galaxy S24 phone in China.