Alibaba has a big bet on artificial intelligence. The Chinese tech giant announced Monday it plans to invest in over $52 billion in AI and cloud computing over the next three years. The move follows the success of the QWEN 2.5-Max model, and the company says it outperforms the DeepSeek-V3.
This investment is the largest Alibaba made in AI and cloud infrastructure, exceeding the sector’s total spending over the past decade. The company had hinted at expanding plans during its revenue report last week, but so far concluded the numbers.
“Alibaba said on Monday it plans to invest at least 380 billion yuan ($52.44 billion) in cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure over the next three years,” Reuters reported.
Alibaba pulled 2801.5 billion yuan in revenue for the quarter ending December 31, slightly exceeding analyst expectations. The company’s stock has risen more than 68% this year, backed by investors’ trust in AI and cloud strategies.
China’s tech giants are racing to secure a foothold for AI, but Alibaba is not alone. Tiktok’s parent company, Baitedan, reportedly has exceeded 150 billion yuan due to capital expenditure this year, with a significant portion being directed towards AI projects.
Alibaba’s push to AI and the cloud shows a greater change in China’s high-tech industry. There, businesses will devote their resources to artificial intelligence to stay competitive. The next few years will reveal whether these massive bets will pay off.
Alibaba’s AI Push surpasses its own model
Alibaba is not only focused on building its own AI, but also supports other Chinese AI startups. In late 2023, the company joined Tencent and other investors, investing $340 million in Openai’s competitor, Zhipu.
Zhipu positions itself as one of China’s top generation AI startups and plays an important role in shaping the country’s AI landscape. Meanwhile, tech giants like Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu aren’t just about investing. They are actively developing their own AI models and developing new products equipped with this technology.
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