(March 26): Apple Inc’s chief executive officer Tim Cook visited China’s artificial intelligence (AI) hub of Hangzhou, the home of AI sensation DeepSeek, which shocked the world with its models built at a fraction of the cost of American rivals.

Cook met with “the next generation of developers” at the city’s elite Zhejiang University on Wednesday, he said in a post on his official Weibo account. Apple donated 30 million yuan (US$4.1 million or RM18.3 million) to the university, the Cupertino, California-based company said in a statement. There is an array of tech executives among its alumni, including DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng and Colin Huang of e-commerce giant PDD Holdings Inc.

Hangzhou is also the home of Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and hosts some of the country’s most revered tech firms, dubbed the “Six Little Dragons”, which include AI start-up Manycore Tech Inc and humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics. The companies have boosted hopes of a Chinese tech revival in the face of US export controls.

It is unclear if Cook will visit any of the companies during his trip to Hangzhou. An Apple representative didn’t immediately respond to messages from Bloomberg News seeking comment.

The first leg of Cook’s trip included a meeting in Beijing attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and comes as the US threatens the world’s second-largest economy with more tariffs and further sanctions on Chinese tech firms.

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