Alibaba to spend more than US$15bn on technology research with launch of collaborative academy
E-commerce giant will open seven labs globally as part of project that executive chairman Jack Ma says will also contribute to ‘society and the era’
Alibaba Group has pledged to spend more than US$15 billion on research and development over the next three years – a big step-up by the e-commerce juggernaut whose market cap now stands side by side with Amazon.
Through the Alibaba Damo Academy, its first global initiative in technology collaboration, the company aims to bankroll some of the most frontier research, ranging from data intelligence, internet of things and fintech to quantum computing and human-machine interaction.
“We are now looking for talented researchers to join us in the quest for original and disruptive technologies that will ultimately change the world,” Jeff Zhang, the group’s chief technology officer, said during an announcement at the Alibaba Computing Conference, held at the group’s headquarters in Hangzhou, on Wednesday.
Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, will open seven research labs in Beijing, Hangzhou, Singapore, Moscow, San Mateo and Bellevue in the United States and Tel Aviv as part of the project. These will focus on areas that include machine learning, network security, visual computing and natural language processing.
Zhang will head the Damo – or Discovery, Adventure, Momentum and Outlook – Academy, which is looking to recruit 100 talented researchers from around the world.
“The Alibaba Damo Academy will be at the forefront of developing next-generation technology that spurs the growth of Alibaba and its partners,” said Zhang.
The decision comes months after Alibaba’s executive chairman, Jack Ma, vowed to double down on research, figuratively upgrading his team from a workshop making “hand grenades” into one “developing missiles”.