Alibaba says modular design delivers AI data centres in 100 days at 10% lower cost

Alibaba Group Holding claims its proprietary modular architecture allows it to construct new data centers much faster and at a lower cost than conventional methods. According to a report by China Securities Journal, Alibaba Cloud's CUBE 5.0 platform has cut the delivery time for large-scale AI data centers to just 100 days. This is a significant improvement over the usual six to 12 months domestically and 12 to 18 months in the United States.

The modular design increases overall modularity across five critical systems by 60%, from 30% to 90%, compared to traditional construction where these systems are installed sequentially on-site. Unlike traditional building methods, modular data centers comprise prefabricated components that are manufactured in factories and assembled like building blocks.

These components include power supply, cooling, security, intelligent management, and fire protection systems. Alibaba has piloted this technology in Ulanqab and Zhongwei, both in northern China, and has received certification for expansion into European and Southeast Asian markets. With the global AI boom driving demand for rapid scalability, Alibaba is expanding its data center footprint globally, including in France.

The company's commitment to AI infrastructure investment stands at 380 billion yuan (US$56.3 billion).