China threads AI through Apple phones, Volkswagen cars and a Zhongguancun bar
Apple reportedly trained a China-only model with Alibaba, Volkswagen begins a third-quarter driver-assistance rollout on seven electrified models, and a Beijing bar pairs a 9.90 yuan drink with free on-site DeepSeek tokens.
Artificial Intelligence··Evening
Apple's China model reportedly leans on Alibaba
TechNode, citing people familiar with the effort, reported that Apple has trained a large language model specifically for the Chinese market with support from Alibaba. The reported model would sit alongside Apple's plan to use Alibaba's Qwen for Apple Intelligence features in China. Apple has announced no launch timetable for it. The Qwen arrangement came into view when Apple briefly published a support guide describing how Mac users in mainland China could connect Qwen to Siri and Writing Tools, then removed it; TechNode credits MacRumors for that detail. The story rests on unnamed sources and remains a report rather than a confirmed announcement from Apple or Alibaba.[1]
Volkswagen rolls driver assistance across three joint ventures
Volkswagen Group China said its full-scenario advanced driver-assistance system will begin rolling out in the third quarter of 2026 and will appear on seven new electrified models across the group's three joint ventures in China. The system was developed by CARIZON, the joint venture between Volkswagen's CARIAD software unit and Horizon Robotics. CARIZON uses Horizon's AI foundation model through a white-box licensing arrangement while developing a single driving solution for the Chinese market. Volkswagen said deliveries of its first Level 3 system could begin in the second half of 2027. TechNode credits CnEVPost for the report. The announced timetable is the company's own; there is no report of hardware already in service or of completed deliveries.[2]
A Zhongguancun bar hands out DeepSeek tokens with the foam
AGI Bar, opened in 2025 by the independent AI developer Song De in the Zhongguancun tech district of Beijing's Haidian, has become a meeting point for the city's developers, investors and students. Its signature drink is a 9.90 yuan glass of foam, and customers can connect to the bar's agent over the wireless network to draw free unlimited DeepSeek tokens for coding. The tokens run on two Nvidia DGX Spark computers on display. The bar sits on Zhongguancun's Inno Way start-up street, close to Tsinghua and Peking universities and to offices of firms including DeepSeek and Microsoft. Song has automated most inventory, reservation, utilities and membership systems with an AI agent, opened a Shanghai branch in June, and hopes to expand the Beijing floor space. The bar is not yet making money: according to Song, the amount of drink given away is definitely 10 times what is sold.[3]
