Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has announced plans to launch its first cloud region in Mexico. This strategic expansion will also see the establishment of new data centers in key markets, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea over the next three years. These initiatives are part of a broader investment aimed at enhancing Alibaba Cloud’s global infrastructure, improving its AI and cloud product offerings, strengthening partnerships, and fostering AI talent development worldwide.
“We are reinforcing our commitment to expanding our AI infrastructure and enhancing our cloud capacities worldwide,” said Selina Yuan, President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, during the Alibaba Cloud Global Summit in Paris. “Our digital talent initiatives, in collaboration with global universities and local partners, will equip the upcoming generation with the requisite AI skills.”
Model Studio for International AI Development
To support enterprises and developers in creating AI models and applications, Alibaba Cloud’s generative AI development platform, Model Studio, will soon be available to international customers via its Availability Zones in Singapore. Model Studio offers access to Alibaba Cloud’s large language model Qwen family, which includes both closed-source and open-source models with multimodal capabilities and sizes ranging from 0.5 billion to several hundred billion parameters. Additional model finetuning and inferencing tools and services will be introduced in the second half of the year, enabling the development of more sophisticated AI tasks with greater cost-efficiency.
Enhanced Partnerships to Elevate Customer Experience
Alibaba Cloud has deepened its collaboration with SAP to launch a one-stop enterprise solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia. This solution combines SAP Business One’s holistic business management capabilities with Alibaba Cloud’s scalable, secure, and cost-efficient infrastructure, providing a powerful ERP system without substantial initial IT investment. The integration of SAP Business One services with Alibaba Cloud’s compute nest technology ensures seamless deployment for customers, allowing SMEs to navigate market fluctuations with agility, optimize operational efficiency, and seize growth opportunities.
Additionally, Alibaba Cloud is developing a Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud training course for multinational companies operating in China. This exclusive course focuses on using and mastering the Salesforce CRM platform with integrated and localized features supported by Alibaba Cloud. Available from the end of 2023, the course aims to equip over 10,000 participants with the necessary skills to master the Salesforce platform in China by the end of 2025. The training program offers customized offline sessions to teach essential skills and competences required for an administrator role on the Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud platform, enhancing participants’ ability to migrate and integrate smoothly into the Salesforce ecosystem.
Digital Training with Global Education Institutes
Alibaba Cloud has partnered with Demos Group, a leading corporate training provider in Europe, to launch a suite of online courses focusing on cloud computing, data analytics, and AI. These courses aim to enhance the digital competencies of Demos’ corporate clients’ workforce. Additionally, Alibaba Cloud is collaborating with OxValue.AI, a deep-tech venture from the University of Oxford, to broaden the suite of capabilities provided to end customers, including AI-driven valuation services.
Further partnerships with international universities—such as the University of Reading, Singapore University of Social Sciences, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Arovy University, and University Saint Thomas Mozambique—will introduce cloud computing and AI courses aimed at cultivating a new generation of AI experts.
Thriving Collaboration to Support Global Customers
Alibaba Cloud continues to support international customers in their digital transformation and AI innovation efforts:
- LVMH Group: The world leader in high-quality products and Alibaba Group have extended their partnership to enhance the luxury experience in China using Alibaba’s cloud technologies. LVMH has integrated Alibaba Cloud’s generative AI capabilities, including the Qwen large language model and Model Studio, to create novel applications and services. This integration underscores LVMH’s commitment to innovation and leveraging cutting-edge technology to elevate its luxury offerings for global consumers.
- FathomX: This digital health AI company, emerging from the National University of Singapore, uses Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure to support its AI-driven breast cancer detection system. The partnership has led to a 27.6% annual reduction in infrastructure costs, enabling FathomX to expand operations and deliver sophisticated healthcare solutions worldwide.
- International Canoe Federation (ICF): Alibaba Cloud has been assisting the ICF in measuring and improving the sustainability of its events since their strategic collaboration began last year. Extending this partnership, the ICF will explore the use of Alibaba Cloud’s AI-driven ESG solutions to reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of its events. The collaboration aims to jointly organize sustainable activities to promote environmental sustainability in sports.
These strategic initiatives highlight Alibaba Cloud’s commitment to enhancing its global cloud and AI capabilities, fostering innovation, and supporting the digital transformation of its international customers.
