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The Apple Siri AI icon is being displayed on a smartphone, with Apple Intelligence in the background. 

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Apple’s big artificial intelligence push faces some big challenges in China — one of the iPhone maker’s most critical markets — as Beijing maintains strict rules around the buzzy technology.

The uncertain path in China comes at a time when Apple’s market share is being eroded in the world’s second largest economy by a resurgent Huawei and other local smartphones players, which are talking up their AI features.

Apple Intelligence is the Cupertino giant’s play that aims to bring AI across its devices. It features an improved version of Apple’s voice assistant Siri, as well as features that automatically organize your email or transcribe and summarize audio footage.

Apple said that Apple Intelligence will roll out in U.S. English this fall, with additional languages, features and platforms due to arrive over the course of next year. The company was, however, quiet on the product offering in China during the AI launch at its annual developers conference this month.

That’s likely to do with China’s stringent rules on AI, analysts told CNBC, as Apple tries to figure out how to approach the complex market.

“China is in another world when it comes to AI given the regulatory environment there, so China is a big asterisk on Apple’s big announcements last week,” Bryan Ma, vice president of devices research at IDC, told CNBC via email.

Beijing has enacted various regulations over the past few years focused on areas ranging from data protection to large language models — the massive sets of data that underpin applications like ChatGPT.

China’s AI market is heavily regulated. Some of the rules include requirements for LLM providers to get approval for the commercial use of their models. Generative AI providers are also responsible for taking down “illegal” content.

Apple’s China AI challenges

Navigating these rules will be tricky for Apple.

Firstly, some of the features of Apple Intelligence are based on Apple’s own language model, which runs on both the phone and on the company’s own servers.

Under Chinese rules, Apple would likely need to get its AI model approved by authorities.

Secondly, one of the biggest announcements this month was that Apple’s voice assistant Siri can tap into OpenAI’s ChatGPT for certain requests — but ChatGPT is banned in China, meaning Apple would have to find an equivalent domestic partner.

Baidu and Alibaba are among China’s technology giants that have their own LLMs and voice assistants, ranking them as companies with which Apple can potentially partner.

Meanwhile, China’s internet is heavily censored with regulators concerned about the potential for AI services to generate content, which may go against Beijing’s views or ideology.

The likelihood is that Apple will have to build an on-device AI model and a cloud-based AI model that complies with local regulations, Canalys analyst Nicole Peng told CNBC over email.

The other part of the equation on AI for Apple to be successful in China, according to CCS Insight Chief Analyst Ben Wood, is for the company to create a localized AI experience on its devices that appeals to Chinese users.

“Localising the Apple Intelligence experience will be a major challenge for Apple,” Wood told CNBC. “As with all technology deployments, there are nuances to the way the service is delivered to respect the specific customs, regulations and use cases in a particular country.”

Privacy

A key part of Apple’s pitch during the AI launch was its focus on privacy. The company announced Private Cloud Compute, whereby AI is processed on servers owned by Apple. Apple said that data processed is not stored.

Whether the tech titan will be able to fully own its own servers is another question. Chinese iCloud data is stored inside servers located in China which are run by a third party.

This could mean Apple might require a similar partnership for its AI computing servers, opening the tech giant up to critcisms about how private the data actually is.

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“Maintaining complete user privacy in an AI era in heavily regulated markets such as China will be the biggest test for Apple yet,” Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC. “Its going to be challenging for Apple to have fully controlled own private compute servers in China.”

CCS Insights’ Wood said Apple’s focus on privacy could help introduce AI features to the market. China passed a major data protection law in 2021, which looks to limit how information is collected and stored.

“Apple’s on-going focus on privacy and security practices may help placate local regulators and Apple has not been afraid to make concessions when required,” Wood said.

Apple’s path to AI in China

CNBC has contacted Apple over Private Cloud Compute and the company’s AI ambitions in China. A spokesperson did not directly address those questions, but pointed CNBC to an interview in the Fast Company business magazine with Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.

Federighi expressed the desire to bring Apple Intelligence to China.

“We certainly want to find a way to bring all of our best product capabilities to all of our customers,” he said in the Fast Company interview, adding that “in some regions of the world, there are regulations that need to be worked through.”

The Apple executive said the process was under way to introduce the AI products to China, but gave no timeline.

Smartphone makers globally are talking up their AI features as a way to sell high-end phones to consumers who want to hold onto their device for longer.

Apple has been facing a number of challenges in China, where its market share fell to 15% in the first quarter of 2024, versus 20% in the same period the year before, according to Canalys data. Huawei, whose smartphone business was crippled by U.S. sanctions, revived once more and is now the biggest smartphone player in China, where it competes with Apple with phones targeting the premium segment.

Apple’s lag behind domestic rivals in launching AI features in China is unlikely to be detrimental to iPhone sales.

“For Apple, deploying China-grade Apple Intelligence is going to be a marathon and not a sprint. It will be deployed in phases over the years until Apple is confident and until then it will have to face some competition,” Counterpoint Research’s Shah said.

Wood said Apple’s control of its hardware and software integration will allow it to deliver a different experience from that of its rivals.

“Apple has an uncanny ability to explain its services and features better than rivals, even if it is essentially delivering the same experience or a subset of what rivals can offer,” Wood said.

“Despite the current focus on AI by rival China-based smartphone makers, Apple should still be in a strong position.”

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Elon Musk’s X will be allowed back online in Brazil after paying one more fine

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Elon Musk's X will be allowed back online in Brazil after paying one more fine

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brazil suspends Elon Musk’s social network after it fails to comply with orders from Minister Alexandre de Moraes to block accounts of those being investigated by the Brazilian justice system. 

Cris Faga | Nurphoto | Getty Images

X has to pay one last fine before the social network owned by Elon Musk is allowed back online in Brazil, according to a decision out Friday from the country’s top justice, Alexandre de Moraes.

The platform was suspended nationwide at the end of August, a decision upheld by a panel of judges on Sept. 2. Earlier this month, X filed paperwork informing Brazil’s supreme court that it is now in compliance with orders, which it previously defied.

As Brazil’s G1 Globo reported, X must now pay a new fine of 10 million reals (about $2 million) for two additional days of non-compliance with the court’s orders. X’s legal representative in Brazil, Rachel de Oliveira, is also required to pay a fine of 300,000 reals.

The case dates back to April, when de Moraes, the minister of Brazil’s supreme court, known as Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), initiated a probe into Musk and X over alleged obstruction of justice.

Musk had vowed to defy the court’s orders to take down certain accounts in Brazil. He called the court’s actions “censorship,” and railed online against de Moraes, describing the judge as a “criminal” and encouraging the U.S. to end foreign aid to Brazil.

In mid-August, Musk closed down X offices in Brazil. That left his company without a legal representative in the country, a federal requirement for all tech platforms to do business there.

By Aug. 28, de Moraes’ court threatened a ban and fines if X didn’t appoint a legal representative within 24 hours, and if it didn’t comply with takedown requests for accounts the court said had engaged in plots to dox or harm federal agents, among other things.

Earlier this month, the STF froze the business assets of Musk companies, including both X and satellite internet business Starlink, operating in Brazil. The STF said in court filings that it viewed Starlink parent SpaceX and X as companies that worked together as related parties.

Musk wrote in a post on X at that time that, “Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too.”

On August 29, 2024, in Brazil, the Minister of the Supreme Court, STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes, orders the blocking of the accounts of another company, Starlink, of Elon Musk, to guarantee the payment of fines imposed by the STF due to the lack of representatives of X in Brazil. 

Ton Molina | Nurphoto | Getty Images

As head of the STF, de Moraes has long supported federal regulations to rein in hate speech and misinformation online. His views have garnered pushback from tech companies and far-right officials in the country, along with former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters.

Bolsonaro is under investigation, suspected of orchestrating a coup in Brazil after losing the 2022 presidential election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

While Musk has called for retribution against de Moraes and Lula, he has worked with and praised Bolsonaro for years. The former president of Brazil authorized SpaceX to deliver satellite internet services commercially in Brazil in 2022.

Musk bills himself as a free speech defender, but his track record suggests otherwise. Under his management, X removed content critical of ruling parties in Turkey and India at the government’s insistence. X agreed to more than 80% of government take-down requests in 2023 over a comparable period the prior year, according to analysis by the tech news site Rest of World.

X faces increased competition in Brazil from social apps like Meta-owned Threads, and Bluesky, which have attracted users during its suspension.

Starlink also faces competition in Brazil from eSpace, a French-American firm that gained permission this year from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to deliver satellite internet services in the country.

Lukas Darien, an attorney and law professor at Brazil’s Facex University Center, told CNBC that the STF’s enforcement actions against X are likely to change the way large technology companies will view the court.

“There is no change to the law here,” Darien wrote in a message. “But specifically, big tech companies are now aware that the laws will be applied regardless of the size of a business and the magnitude of its reach in the country.”

Musk and representatives for X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Late Thursday, X Global Government Affairs posted the following statement:

“X is committed to protecting free speech within the boundaries of the law and we recognize and respect the sovereignty of the countries in which we operate. We believe that the people of Brazil having access to X is essential for a thriving democracy, and we will continue to defend freedom of expression and due process of law through legal processes.”

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OpenAI sees roughly $5 billion loss this year on $3.7 billion in revenue

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OpenAI sees roughly  billion loss this year on .7 billion in revenue

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, at the Hope Global Forums annual meeting in Atlanta on Dec. 11, 2023.

Dustin Chambers | Bloomberg | Getty Images

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, expects about $5 billion in losses on $3.7 billion in revenue this year, CNBC has confirmed.

The company generated $300 million in revenue last month, up 1,700% since the beginning of last year, and expects to bring in $11.6 billion in sales next year, according to a person close to OpenAI who asked not to be named because the numbers are confidential.

The New York Times was first to report on OpenAI’s financials earlier on Friday after viewing company documents. CNBC hasn’t seen the financials.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, is currently pursuing a funding round that would value the company at more than $150 billion, people familiar with the matter have told CNBC. Thrive Capital is leading the round and plans to invest $1 billion, with Tiger Global planning to join as well.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told investors in an email Thursday that the funding round is oversubscribed and will close by next week. Her note followed a number of key departures, most notably technology chief Mira Murati, who announced the previous day that she was leaving OpenAI after six and a half years.

Also this week, news surfaced that OpenAI’s board is considering plans to restructure the firm to a for-profit business. The company will retain its nonprofit segment as a separate entity, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. The structure would be more straightforward for investors and make it easier for OpenAI employees to realize liquidity, the source said.

OpenAI’s services have exploded in popularity since the company launched ChatGPT in late 2022. The company sells subscriptions to various tools and licenses its GPT family of large language models, which are powering much of the generative AI boom. Running those models requires a massive investment in Nvidia’s graphics processing units.

The Times, citing an analysis by a financial professional who reviewed OpenAI’s documents, reported that the roughly $5 billion in loses this year are tied to costs for running its services as well as employee salaries and office rent. The costs don’t include equity-based compensation, “among several large expenses not fully explained in the documents,” the paper said.

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Alibaba, Tencent rally as Beijing stimulus plans push China’s tech stocks to 13-month high

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Alibaba, Tencent rally as Beijing stimulus plans push China's tech stocks to 13-month high

The Alibaba office building is seen in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, Aug 28, 2024. 

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Chinese tech stocks, including beaten-down names like Alibaba, rallied this week, hitting highs not seen in more than a year after China’s central bank announced measures to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy.

The Hang Seng Tech Index in Hong Kong, which contains most of the big Chinese tech stocks, closed up nearly 6% at its highest level since early August 2023. The index is up 20% this week.

Alibaba closed above $100 per share for the first time since August last year in the U.S. on Thursday, after surging 10% during the session. On Friday, the company’s Hong Kong-listed stock reached its highest close since February 2023, up nearly 5% to 102.50 Hong Kong dollars. The e-commerce giant’s shares in Hong Kong are around 18% higher this week.

Tencent, the owner of China’s biggest messaging app WeChat and one of the largest gaming firms in the world, closed up nearly 2% at 437.80 Hong Kong dollars per share. This is the firm’s highest close in more than two-and-a-half years and comes after Tencent’s stock rallied around 49 % this year amid a recovery in its core gaming business.

Food delivery giant Meituan meanwhile ended the session 8% higher at 164.60 Hong Kong dollars a share, the company’s highest close level since February last year.

The market uptick comes after the People’s Bank of China this week announced a cut to the amount of cash that banks need to have on hand. The central bank outlined plans to further support the struggling property market, including extending measures for two years and cutting the interest rates on existing mortgages.

These measures have been declared in the hope of boosting the Chinese economy. Prior to the cuts, investors had been cautious on Chinese tech stocks like Alibaba and Meituan which are sensitive to the economy and consumer in China.

However, big-name investor have started to strike a bullish tone on Chinese stocks. Billionaire hedge fund founder David Tepper told CNBC on Thursday that, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates this month, he bought more Chinese stocks including names like Alibaba and Baidu.

Other names including JD.com and Baidu also logged share increases this week.

Despite the latest upswing, Chinese tech stocks remain significantly off their all-time highs hit in 2021.

CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.

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