Alibaba’s entrance into the Artificial Intelligence realm provides customers with cloud-based Large Language Model (LLM) services to rival Microsoft’s ChatGPT. This service is available to select customers as a part of Alibaba Cloud and is offering chatbot Tongyi Qianwen- that can summarize meetings, write emails, and create other documents for users. The AI is being integrated within the company’s online collaboration suite, DingTalk, and Alibaba’s voice assistant, Tmall Genie.
The Chinese conglomerate hopes that this AI technology will be the groundwork for customers to create their own tailor-made LLMs in the cloud, so they can have apps with Alibaba’s AI technology without building their own from scratch. Although details about the costs and the infrastructure powering the AI were not shared, the company has its own ARM CPUs which China’s sanctions could prove to be a great benefit.
Alibaba, with headquarters in Hangzhou, China, is one of the world’s largest technology companies, and is also the largest e-commerce company in the world. Founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, the company has branched out its business model to include payment services, cloud computing, and other forms of technology solutions. Jack Ma has become one of China’s most successful entrepreneurs, known for his passion for teaching, with a focus on creating an innovative future for international businesses.
