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Alibaba Cloud

Alibaba Cloud
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Alibaba Cloud. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Open-sourcing AI models “in weeks, rather than months” helps DeepSeek and other Chinese tech firms drive global adoption, according to OpenAI. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

OpenAI sees another ‘seismic shock’ from China as talks swirl of DeepSeek launch

There is heightened anticipation about a potential major DeepSeek release around the Lunar New Year.

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba reaffirms open-source AI commitment as it hails successes

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s Qwen family hits 700 million downloads to lead open-source AI adoption

Artificial intelligence

China takes confident strides to develop more AI innovation in 2026

‘China’s tech innovation is poised for policy-driven growth in 2026, with AI placed at the centre of the country’s economic agenda,’ NYU’s Winston Ma says.

Illustration: Henry Wong
IPO

China’s DRAM giant CXMT plans US$4.2 billion IPO on Shanghai’s Star Market

Listing aims to fund wafer expansion and DRAM upgrades as Beijing drives tech self-reliance.

Robotics

Tech giants go prime time in the fight for China’s biggest audience

ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba are in talks over Spring Festival Gala sponsorship packages, as AI rivalry becomes a fight for ad real estate.

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Artificial intelligence

ByteDance, other major Chinese tech firms lead local consumer AI market: report

ByteDance-owned Doubao remains the country’s top consumer AI app, as DeepSeek’s namesake chatbot takes the No 2 spot.

ByteDance’s top-ranked Doubao AI app. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba

Alibaba deepens ecosystem with Qwen-Amap tie-up for routes, restaurants and more

The integration marks Alibaba’s first full tie-in for Qwen, as the company pushes for more synergy across its sprawling consumer platforms.

Artificial intelligence

China’s open-source AI models rival US giants, making engagement urgent: report

The report calls on US actors to engage with Chinese firms as the AI landscape continues to evolve.

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Artificial intelligence

Tencent shakes up AI operations, names recent recruit as chief AI scientist

Vinces Yao Shunyu now serves as chief AI scientist under the CEO’s office, reporting directly to Tencent president Martin Lau.

Tencent Holdings’ latest restructuring underscored the intense competition in the country’s fast-developing AI sector. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

China’s Qwen and DeepSeek edge out US AI models in Christian values benchmark

US start-up Gloo’s Flourishing AI Christian benchmark tested how the output of AI models ‘help people flourish’, CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

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The questions in FAI-C were reviewed by a panel of Biblical experts, including theologians, pastors, psychologists and scholars of ethics. Photo: SCMP
Artificial intelligence

Rapid advances in China’s AI video space lead to widespread tech adoption

Cutting-edge tools from Shengshu, Kuaishou, Alibaba Cloud and SenseTime transform content creation for marketers and creators alike.

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US-China tech war

Kimi developer Moonshot shows China’s growing AI depth: US government report

Washington’s evaluation highlights an increasing number of Chinese companies developing world-leading open-weight AI models, not just DeepSeek.

Artificial intelligence

Sea change: China narrows AI gap with US 3 years after ChatGPT shock

The turning point came when DeepSeek released its V3 and R1 models, which were on par with OpenAI’s GPT and Meta’s Llama models at the time.

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Illustration by Lau Ka-kuen
Artificial intelligence

Meta sees role reversal as it adopts Alibaba’s Qwen to train AI models

Throughout 2023 and 2024, Chinese firms keen to catch up with the US used Meta’s Llama to help them build their own models.

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The Qwen logo is seen in this illustration taken, January 29, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Alipay and Rokid open up AI payment function on smart glasses to developers

The function has been made available to participants in the Rokid Spatial Joy 25 Global AR and AI Developer Competition.

China Future Tech briefing

AI | China chases superintelligent AI without sci-fi movie risks

AI systems with human-level intelligence, or higher, offer the promise of solutions to humanity’s biggest challenges but the risk of humans losing control.

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Artificial intelligence

Alibaba names AI-lab leader Zhou Jingren as new group partner

He will join the 17-member Alibaba Partnership, which steers the company’s course and includes co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai.

Alibaba’s Zhou Jingren speaks during a summit in Hong Kong on November 13, 2023. Photo: May Tse
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba creates new unit to push consumer use of its Qwen AI models

Significant organisational change underlines company’s determination to turn the Qwen chatbot into a ‘super app’.

China technology

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese open-source models account for 30% of global AI use: report

Producing globally competitive models makes China a close peer of the US in AI development.

Open-source AI models from Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen and DeepSeek are driving the international adoption of Chinese large language models. Photo: Shutterstock
US-China tech war

Editorial | China’s low-cost AI is showing up America’s high-cost tech model

The real China threat is in exposing America’s AI myths by showing what can be achieved at much lower costs and with greater efficiency.

Screens showing DeepSeek and OpenAI on January 29 in Toulouse, southwestern France. The American notion is that AI is capital-intensive, perhaps more so than any other US industry today. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba Cloud team wins top AI award for breakthrough in model efficiency

The research could help reduce training and inference costs for Alibaba’s next generation Qwen models without sacrificing accuracy.

China Future Tech briefing

AI | Smart-glasses makers see AI as long-awaited must-have app

Chinese smart-glasses makers, such as Rokid and Alibaba, and global giant Meta are counting on artificial intelligence to kick-start demand for the devices.

Alibaba

Alibaba to lead AI capital spending among Chinese firms amid strong demand

The group’s intention to boost AI-related capital outlay reflects its aim to spearhead China’s efforts in the race for global AI leadership.

Alibaba Cloud continues to grow demand for its open-source Qwen AI model family. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba

AI Singapore picks Alibaba’s Qwen to drive new regional language model

In a boost for China’s AI ambitions, AI Singapore has chosen Alibaba’s Qwen to train its new language model.

Competition between Chinese open-source models and US models in third-party countries like Singapore is closely watched, as it has broad implications for the world’s AI landscape. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba

Alibaba posts 5% rise in quarterly revenue on AI, cloud momentum

‘We have entered into an investment phase to build long-term strategic value in AI technologies and infrastructure,’ CEO Eddie Wu Yongming says.

Artificial intelligence

US lab unveils ‘fully open’ AI models in challenge to China’s dominance

By publishing training data and pipelines, the Allen Institute for AI hopes its Olmo models can win trust – and chip away at China’s lead.

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