AliCloud, a subsidiary of Chinese giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., intends to invest $1 billion in data analysis and machine learning. In short, the company will inject money into development of artificial intelligence. AliCloud will work on the project in partnership with US chipmaker Nvidia. Besides, the company plans to enlist about a thousand developers in this endeavor.
Platforms that can analyze large or complex sets of information are AliCloud’s primary focus. First of all, the company aims to make them available to corporate clients. For example, AliCloud established Big Data Platform which allows Chinese companies to implement various cloud computing services. In terms of artificial intelligence, AliCloud rolled out the new B2B service DT PAI last summer. The platform helps recognize key trends followed by clients and recommend products to customers based on their preferences. This solution greatly facilitates the search. Customers simply have to snap a photo of a product they would like to purchase, and the platform will immediately show a list of matched shops and shipment methods.
As a matter of fact, Alibaba Group Holding can afford large investments like that. According to the official statement, the company’s revenue grew 3.4 times year-over-year to $8.43 billion for the six months ended September 30, 2015.
