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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Alibaba is reportedly planning to spend even more on AI in the next three years than the $53 billion it said previously, marking the latest announcement by a large tech firm to spend big on the technology.
- The Chinese tech firm’s CEO announced the AI spending plan, according to reports, just days after Nvidia said it would invest $100 billion in OpenAI.
China’s top tech firm is spending even more than it originally planned on AI, turning up the heat on U.S. chip giants like Nvidia (NVDA) in the race to dominate the technology.
Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA) CEO Eddie Wu reportedly said Wednesday that the Chinese company has raised its AI budget to more than the $53 billion three-year outlay it announced in February. The spending plan marks the latest push by a tech firm to invest big in AI, the technology that has fueled U.S. stock markets to hit record highs. Nvidia said earlier this week it plans to invest up to $100 billion in ChatGPT owner OpenAI.
“We are vigorously advancing a three-year, 380 billion [yuan] AI infrastructure initiative with plans to sustain and further increase our investment according to our strategic vision in anticipation of the [artificial superintelligence] era,” Wu said at Alibaba Cloud’s annual flagship technology conference, according to CNBC.
Why This Matters to You
The massive boom in AI spending by tech firms has helped propel the U.S. stock market to record highs this year, but its ability to stay elevated will depend on who wins the race in the technology. American tech firms like Nvidia and OpenAI have been in the lead but increasing spending on AI by Alibaba and its domestic rivals like Baidu will determine which technology is adopted in China and globally.
Wu has said he sees companies globally spending around $4 trillion globally on AI over the next five years, and “Alibaba needs to keep up,” Bloomberg said.
Alibaba shares have more than doubled so far this year, as co-founder Jack Ma returned to Beijing’s fold and the ecommerce giant doubled down on its “AI first strategy.” On Wednesday, they rose 9% in intraday trading.
Adding to the investor optimism, Cathie Wood’s funds bought Alibaba shares, according to a daily trading report from her Ark Investment Management. Bloomberg noted it was the star fund manager’s first purchase in the Chinese company in four years.
Alibaba didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
UPDATE—This article has been updated with the latest share price information.
