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Alibaba's Qwen AI Will Be Integrated Into Apple Phones In China Amid Push For Local Models

Apple is starting to take cost-cutting (and Chinese supply chains) very seriously.

Just days after reports that the smartphone giant will use China's DRAM pioneer CXMT (which just priced its IPO) for local memory as a cheaper alternative source to ridiculously overpriced DRAM sourced from the memory cartel triad of Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, this morning Reuters reported that BABA Qwen AI - much cheaper but just as efficient as most US frontier models - will be integrated into Apple Intelligence in China.

US-listed shares in of Alibaba rose 6% on Wednesday after the company confirmed to CNBC that the Qwen AI model will be integrated into Apple systems in China. 

“Qwen will be integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences within iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS for users in China,” an Alibaba spokesperson told CNBC. 

The Cyberspace Administration of China included Apple AI services on a list of approved providers, which included products from homegrown companies like Huawei.

The decision follows a long route to a Beijing greenlight for Apple’s AI service since the offering was first announced in 2024. In that time, the technological rivalry between the US and China has intensified as both countries race for dominance in AI.

The Apple-Qwen integration gives users the ability to access the model’s capabilities, “like text and image understanding and generation, without needing to jump between tools,” the Alibaba spokesperson added.

It comes after CNBC reported that Apple is in talks with a small Silicon Valley company that says it can shrink powerful artificial intelligence models enough to run directly on an iPhone, the startup’s CEO told CNBC on Tuesday. PrismML, a Khosla Ventures-backed spinout from the California Institute of Technology, publicly released compressed versions of Alibaba’s open-source Qwen model on Tuesday. The company said it reduced the model from roughly 54 GB to less than 4 GB, allowing all 27 billion of its parameters to run on an iPhone 15 or newer.

Meanwhile, in a stealthy push for local (i.e., "on your cell phone") models, earlier this week Bloomberg reported that Apple's planned M7 Ultra chip is being designed to support up to 1.5 TB of unified memory and to push AI performance toward the class of Nvidia's Blackwell accelerators. Why? To give the company's upcoming local LLMs access to as much DRAM as possible so the company is not confined to the cloud.

Apple's M7 Ultra chip coming in 2029 is rumored to support 1.5TB of RAM.

This would make the processor much more capable for on-device AI. pic.twitter.com/7162RWZjpN

— AppleTrack (@appltrack) July 12, 2026

We previously looked at the Chinese LLM scene in two extended articles recently, the first one showing how rapidly China's open models are catching up to the latest frontier offerings in the US (see "Are Chinese AI models a better value than US models")...

... and the second one drilling down into each and every AI model in what we called the "definitive Chinese LLM primer."

Source: Goldman

We also did an extended overview of the Alibaba offering which increasingly appears primed to take on the leading US frontier models; the schematic is summarized below.

Source: Goldman

Much more in the full reports (here and here).

Tyler Durden Wed, 07/15/2026 - 12:20

Costco has expanded its food court offerings and is now delivering this hot, fried fan favorite to its food courts nationwide.

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The duo announced their separation in May 2024 after nearly a decade of marriage, with Dorit filing for divorce in April of the following year.

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The United Arab Emirates is getting broader access to prized US artificial intelligence chips after becoming a key military partner during the conflict with Iran.

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"Every look I have ever created on the Louis Vuitton runway begins with the lip line," Pat McGrath said.

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The comment comes as tensions escalate between Washington and Tehran after President Trump re-established the US blockade

Standard Nuclear Slashes IPO Size As Nuclear Comps Collapse

Standard Nuclear reset its IPO terms sharply lower as recent nuclear peers have watched their stock price crater after debuting on the public market. 

The TRISO fuel manufacturing company originally targeted 18.25 million shares at $18-$21, for up to $383 million in proceeds and an implied valuation as high as $3.55 billion. It has now filed to sell 10 million shares at $15, raising $150 million with a fully diluted market value around $2.4-2.7 billion.

The adjustment reflects cooling sentiment toward newer nuclear public vehicles. While some established or better-capitalized names have held up, others that listed via SPAC or IPO have had their stock prices obliterated.

Terrestrial Energy (IMSR), which went public in late 2025, trades under $6 after falling more than 70% from its highs. 

Hadron Energy (HDRN), a micro-modular reactor play that listed earlier this year, has dropped roughly 80% from its post-deal peaks and now trades around $2 with a market cap near $140 million.

Standard Nuclear reported just $3 million in revenue for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026, against a net loss of approximately $15 million. At the original top-end valuation of $3.55 billion, that implied a price-to-sales multiple over 1000x. The revised valuation doesn't improve the multiple very much, but it's worth noting that the company at least has revenue compared to some of its other nuclear peers.

The company produces TRISO fuel for advanced reactors and claims the only privately funded industrial-scale line in the US after acquiring assets from the Ultra Safe Nuclear bankruptcy. 

BWXT already manufactures and has delivered TRISO fuel for Department of Defense programs such as Project Pele and continues expanding capacity. 

Newer players include Kairos Power, which uses TRISO in annular pebbles for its fluoride salt-cooled design and is collaborating with BWXT on commercial production scaling, and X-Energy with its TRISO-X fuel for the Xe-100.

Markets are applying greater scrutiny to nuclear valuation and timelines even as long-term demand tailwinds from AI power needs remain intact. Capital is clearly no longer flowing indiscriminately to every nuclear story that reaches the public tape.
 

Tyler Durden Wed, 07/15/2026 - 12:00

By the end of the day, the World Cup 2026 final will be set.

Bruce Marshall Romans bought the historic home at 130 N Catalina Street for $1.92 million in 2022.

The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response.

Trump Says FBI Wasting Time If It Probes Conspiracy Theories About Graham's Death

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump said on July 14 that he was aware of the conspiracy theories surrounding Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C) sudden death but said that any FBI investigation into them would be a waste of time.

Trump was responding to a reporter’s question at the Oval Office about why FBI agents were at the senator’s residence and whether there were any updates on the possible probe into his death.

“Well, I don’t know why because I think he had a problem. His father had a very similar problem, as you know. It’s very unique,” the president said, referring to Graham’s health issues.

“I don’t see a lot of evil there. I know there’s all sorts of conspiracy theories going on and I think the FBI is wasting their time if they’re doing that.”

Graham passed away on July 11 after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness.”

Preliminary findings by the medical examiner suggest that Graham died from an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is considered an aorta rupture stemming from hardening of his arteries, according to his office.

Trump said that Graham’s condition was difficult to detect, although he noted that the late senator had previously complained about having a “bad back.”

“I wish he took better care of himself,” the president told reporters.

“What happened is actually something that’s very hard to detect. It was not related to any blockage. It was a totally different thing.

“I’ve watched all the medical reports. I’ve had the doctors from the White House come in and explain what happened. And this is something that is very, almost undetectable. And if it happens, there’s not much you can do about it.”

Trump: 'A part of Lindsey's body literally BLEW up' pic.twitter.com/5uwHasvYWQ

— RT (@RT_com) July 14, 2026

The Epoch Times reached out to the FBI for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference in Washington on April 27, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a July 12 post on X that the FBI was “assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available,” but did not elaborate.

Graham had just returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he announced on July 10 that he and other senators had reached ​an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with updated legislation on Russia sanctions.

The legislation, which Graham had been ​working on with fellow Republicans and Democrats for months, would impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its ‌energy exports.

Graham, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on the same day, said the ​agreement meant the legislation could move forward, giving Trump fresh tools to help end the Ukraine–Russia war, which is now in its fifth year.

“We’ve reached an agreement with the White House on a version of the Russian sanctions bill that they will support. It means it’s ​going to become law,” he told reporters, wrapping up his 10th visit to Kyiv.

Following Graham’s passing, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced on July 13 that he had appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve the remainder of the late senator’s term, which is set to expire in January 2027.

Tyler Durden Wed, 07/15/2026 - 11:40

Options for the whole family.