Alibaba Boosts Investment in AI and Cloud Infrastructure

According to a source familiar with the matter, Alibaba is evaluating the possibility of increasing its investment in AI infrastructure and cloud computing from 380 billion to 480 billion yuan over the next three years. This strategic move highlights Alibaba's commitment to expanding its influence in the global AI landscape and reinforcing its technological edge.

In-House Chips and Overseas Hardware Sourcing

Domestically, Alibaba has developed the in-house Zhenwu 810E chip, which provides powerful support for AI model training and inference. Meanwhile, overseas, the company is aggressively sourcing high-performance GPUs, with reports of bulk purchases on a truckload scale, reflecting its urgent need for computational power.

Consumer-Grade GPUs Part of AI Strategy

At its most aggressive phase, Alibaba even purchased large quantities of consumer-grade GPUs like the RTX4090 to build inference clusters and enhance inference throughput. This unconventional approach not only reduces costs but also accelerates AI deployment, demonstrating Alibaba's innovative resource allocation and practical application strategies.

  • Investment plan raised to 480 billion yuan over three years
  • In-house Zhenwu 810E chip already deployed domestically
  • Massive GPU purchases overseas to boost computing power
  • Consumer-grade GPUs used in inference cluster construction