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Alibaba Group announced plans to invest at least RMB 380 billion (US $53 billion) over the next three years to advance its cloud computing and AI infrastructure, reinforcing its commitment to long-term technological innovation. The investment, which exceeds Alibaba’s total AI and cloud spending over the past decade, underscores the company’s focus on AI-driven growth and its role as a leading global cloud provider.
During its latest earnings call, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu described AI as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity, with Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) as the company’s primary long-term objective. Wu shared that AI’s ability to replicate human intellectual and physical labor could fundamentally reshape global industries, driving significant economic and technological shifts. As AI models evolve, a growing share of AI-generated data will be processed and distributed via cloud networks—a trend that positions Alibaba Cloud as a key infrastructure provider.
Wu emphasized that cloud computing remains Alibaba’s clearest revenue driver in AI, with demand for AI hosting services surging. In the latest quarter, Alibaba‘s Cloud Intelligence Group’s revenue—excluding revenue from Alibaba-consolidated subsidiaries—grew 11% year-over-year, while AI-related product revenue posted triple-digit growth for the sixth consecutive quarter.
The company expects AI to play an increasingly integral role across e-commerce, enterprise services, and consumer applications, enhancing efficiency, user engagement, and business innovation.
In their May 2024 shareholder letter, Chairman Joe Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu outlined Alibaba’s strategic transition to a “user-first, AI-driven” approach, embedding AI across its ecosystem to enhance customer experiences, optimize business operations, and fuel long-term growth.
With this investment, Alibaba is scaling up its AI capabilities and cloud infrastructure to support the next wave of technological advancements, ensuring businesses and developers have the tools to innovate and grow.