Yesterday evening, a groundbreaking announcement rocked the tech and financial sectors. According to The Information, a technology media outlet, Apple Inc. is partnering with Alibaba Group to develop and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) specifically tailored for Chinese iPhone users.

Apple reportedly began experimenting with various AI models from Chinese developers in 2023, initially collaborating with Baidu. However, this partnership was dissolved due to underwhelming progress. Since then, Apple evaluated AI models from Tencent, ByteDance, DeepSeek, and others, ultimately selecting Alibaba.

Alibaba stands out in the AI industry with its state-of-the-art technical prowess, notably its Tongyi Qianwen large model, which excels in Chinese comprehension and multimodal generation. Additionally, as China's leading cloud service provider, Alibaba Cloud enjoys a significant advantage in selling AI services to enterprises. This collaboration will enable Apple to leverage Alibaba's AI technology, offering Chinese users AI features that better cater to local needs, thereby bolstering its appeal in the Chinese market.

For Alibaba, this partnership with Apple will further elevate its influence and market position in the AI realm. Through Apple's devices, Alibaba Cloud's AI technology will reach a broader audience, accelerating the commercialization of its AI solutions.

Specifically, the partnership between Alibaba and Apple will benefit relevant listed companies in several key areas:

First, cloud computing and data centers: The training and inference of large AI models necessitate substantial computing power. This partnership will significantly boost the demand for cloud computing resources. As the central platform, Alibaba Cloud's data center computing resources will be fully utilized, driving further expansion in its data center infrastructure. This will, in turn, spur demand for data center infrastructure, including servers, storage devices, and network equipment.

Second, software and application development: The partnership will propel the application of AI technology across more scenarios, presenting new growth opportunities for software and application development companies. It will foster innovation and development in AI technology, providing these companies with additional technical resources and collaboration avenues. Notably, Apple's global user base will offer a broader market for Alibaba Cloud's AI technology. Software and application development companies can capitalize on this to expand AI applications to a wider user base, enhancing the market presence of their products.

Third, hardware equipment suppliers: The proliferation of AI technology will directly increase the demand for AI chips and hardware equipment. Suppliers of GPU, ASIC, and other chips will benefit from the surge in demand for large model training and inference. Providers of hardware equipment such as servers, switches, and optical modules will also witness growth opportunities. This partnership will encourage hardware suppliers to continuously innovate to meet the heightened performance requirements of AI technology, particularly for those already collaborating with Alibaba, solidifying their position in the AI industry chain.

Following the announcement, Alibaba concept stocks exhibited certain market anomalies. The partnership between Apple and Alibaba represents a formidable alliance of two tech giants in the AI field, poised to not only accelerate the implementation and advancement of AI technology in the Chinese market but also usher in new development prospects for related industry chains. If the collaboration progresses smoothly, it could lead to substantial performance enhancements.

For investors, the author has compiled a list of Alibaba concept stocks, including DataHarbor, a data center service provider, UFIDA Network, which has close ties with Alibaba Cloud, and individual stocks like Zheda Netnew, Enlight Media, Chuangyeheima, and Yanshan Technology.

Below are detailed information on relevant concept stocks, provided solely for investors' reference and not constituting investment advice.