Alibaba Raises AI Spending, Partners with Nvidia

At its Apsara Conference, Alibaba said it would increase AI and cloud infrastructure spending beyond its earlier three‑year 380 billion yuan (about $50 billion) pledge, committing more than $50 billion to AI development and infrastructure. The company unveiled upgraded Tongyi Qwen models and high‑density AI servers and announced new global data‑centre and service‑centre plans in markets including Brazil, France and the Netherlands. Alibaba also announced a partnership with Nvidia to accelerate data synthesis, model training and environmental simulation, and signaled ambitions toward more advanced AI such as AGI. Its cloud business grew strongly—revenue rose about 26% year‑over‑year—with AI products driving triple‑digit growth and accounting for over 20% of external cloud sales. The announcements sent Alibaba shares sharply higher (rising roughly 9–10%), helping fuel broader gains in Chinese tech and semiconductor stocks. Analysts cautioned the push faces questions over energy demand and long‑term returns, with Alibaba warning data‑centre energy needs could rise sharply by 2032.