Alibaba’s AI push reaches deeper into Europe with new cloud regions and data centres

Alibaba, a leading Chinese technology company, is pushing its Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities into Europe with the establishment of new cloud regions and data centers. During its annual conference, the company announced plans to open its first cloud regions in Finland, the Netherlands, and Turkey, while expanding its data center footprint in Germany, France, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Hong Kong over the next year.

Alibaba's CEO, Eddie Wu, highlighted that machine thinking currently accounts for less than 3% of human thinking, but he envisions it growing to 1,000 times human capacity. The company aims to achieve this by 2032, with Alibaba Cloud's global data center capacity surpassing 20GW to meet the escalating demand for AI.

This expansion will significantly increase Alibaba Cloud's global computing capacity, according to the company. Wu also revealed that Alibaba plans to boost its AI's capacity with models containing five to ten trillion parameters, a significant increase from current models. This move comes amid China's push for homegrown AI chips, as the nation seeks to reduce reliance on US technology due to export restrictions.

Alibaba unveiled a new AI chip, the Zhenwu V900, at the conference, which is believed to be twice as powerful as Nvidia's H20. This development comes amid US efforts to limit China's AI progress, with the US government imposing export controls on advanced chips. These tensions have prompted Beijing to encourage Chinese companies to adopt domestic alternatives.

The upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington is expected to discuss trade tensions, chip restrictions, and AI threats to national security.