(Yicai) Dec. 20 -- Apple is in discussions with Zhipu AI on using the Chinese artificial intelligence developer's large language model in its iPhones in China, Yicai learned.

This development comes on the heels of a Reuters report yesterday stating that Apple is in very early-stage talks with Tencent Holdings and TikTok owner ByteDance about integrating their AI models into iPhones sold in China.

Apple introduced AI-driven Apple Intelligence features for its iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in June, mainly relying on OpenAI’s GPT models in the United States and other markets. But the California-based firm needs to find local partners for the Chinese market due to compliance requirements.

The Wall Street Journal said in March that Apple had held talks with Baidu about using its Ernie chatbot and in June said it was talking with Alibaba Group Holding and Baichuan AI.

In October, Zhipu launched AutoGLM, an intelligent agent capable of performing complex operations on smartphones based on user voice commands. The company announced it had completed a CNY3 billion (USD411 million) funding round on Dec. 17.

Editor: Martin Kadiev