Alibaba, the Chinese technology giant, has advanced its foothold in China’s tech landscape by launching its latest artificial intelligence (AI) model, Tongyi Qianwen 2.0, in its effort to compete against rivals like Amazon and Microsoft. The AI model, unveiled by company co-founder Joe Tsai, is designed to train chatbots in both English and Chinese.

During the Apsara Tech Conference in Hangzhou, Alibaba announced its GenAI Service Platform, which empowers companies to create generative AI applications using their proprietary data, thereby limiting third-party access to sensitive information.

Tsai emphasized Alibaba’s aspirations to be the most inclusive cloud service provider in the AI era. According to the South China Morning Post, he expressed the company’s vision of making AI development more accessible and cost-effective for everyone. His goal is to transform AI into a powerful productivity tool, particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Alibaba’s cloud unit presently caters to about 80% of Chinese tech firms and approximately half of the country’s AI language model companies, Tsai mentioned. However, the company faces stiff competition on the international stage. Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Studio and Amazon Web Service’s Bedrock have been influential in the global market.

The competitive advantage of these tech companies was evident in their recent strong profits, attributed largely to the integration of AI into their cloud services. As Alibaba continues its AI advancements, it aims to further solidify its position in the tech industry, both in China and on a global scale.