Alibaba deepens sports tech push with new Brooklyn Nets partnership

Alibaba Group Holding has formed a multi-year strategic partnership with NBA team Brooklyn Nets, becoming the team's official technology and cloud partner. The collaboration, announced on Monday, is set to deepen Alibaba's presence in the sports industry. As part of the partnership, Alibaba will become the official jersey patch sponsor of the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the team's 60th anniversary season.

Leveraging its cloud infrastructure, Alibaba will power a new real-time 360-degree replay system at the Barclays Centre, the team's home arena in New York City. This system will deliver faster and more innovative broadcast replays starting in the 2026-27 NBA season. Additionally, Alibaba will introduce "Nets Figure Lab," a digital activation that allows fans to generate personalized collectible cards in the arena using Alibaba's proprietary technology.

Alibaba CEO Toby Xu emphasized the company's experience in partnering with leading sports organizations worldwide, leveraging its technology at the speed and scale required for live sports. The Brooklyn Nets, owned by Joe Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba, join Alibaba's growing footprint in the global sports industry. Alibaba Cloud has been a worldwide partner of the International Olympic Committee since 2017 and recently powered cloud-based broadcasting and AI-driven sustainability platforms for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The partnership announcement comes after Alibaba Cloud introduced what it claims to be China's most powerful artificial intelligence chip at its annual Apsara Conference. The company is also working on training an AI model with up to 10 trillion parameters. Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, is actively expanding its influence in the sports technology sector.