By Sam Phillips
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing services and artificial intelligence (AI) arm of Alibaba Group Holding, unveiled plans to launch new data centres in Malaysia and the Philippines, as it expands infrastructure investments to meet the growing demand for AI in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday marking a decade of operations in Singapore, Alibaba Cloud said it had launched its third data centre in Malaysia, and planned to open a second one in the Philippines in October this year. The latest investments follow similar plans in Thailand, Mexico and South Korea earlier this year.
Alibaba is betting heavily on AI, with a commitment to invest at least US$53 billion on AI infrastructure over the next three years. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
In its annual report released last month, Alibaba said it would help 鈥渃ustomers and business partners harness the power of digital technology, AI and cloud infrastructure to optimise operations, unlock new opportunities and drive innovation鈥.
Southeast Asia is a key market for China鈥檚 Big Tech firms and a battleground for US-China AI rivalry. Alibaba鈥檚 expansion in the region comes after it closed data centres in Sydney and Mumbai last year.
The company also announced its inaugural AI Global Competency Centre (AIGCC) in Singapore, a multifunctional hub aimed at expediting AI adoption by 鈥渟upporting enterprises of all sizes, while also addressing the global demand for AI talent鈥.
鈥淥ver the past decade, Singapore has been both an innovation centre and a gateway to the region鈥檚 digital economy,鈥 Selina Yuan, president of international business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said in a statement. 鈥淲e reaffirm our commitment to empowering businesses of all sizes and verticals while advancing cutting-edge AI innovations and driving sustainable digital transformation in Singapore for years to come.鈥
Alibaba said the AIGCC will support over 5,000 businesses and 100,000 developers in the development of 鈥渘ext-generation AI solutions鈥.
The company also announced an AI innovation lab, which would offer 鈥渢oken credits, curated data sets and personalised support tailored to real-world scenarios and industry needs鈥. No further details were provided regarding these services.
Alibaba Cloud said it plans to partner with over 120 universities and institutions to train 100,000 AI professionals every year.