Joe Tsai says open-source AI will boost Alibaba’s cloud business

Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai said that open-sourcing large language models (LLMs) would spur a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) applications and boost demand for cloud computing, as the company refines the focus of its sprawling business empire after “a period of huge ordeal”.

One reason Alibaba has opted to open-source its Qwen models is that it “democratises the usage of AI” and “proliferates applications”, which would contribute to the company’s cloud computing business, Tsai said at the VivaTech trade show in Paris on Wednesday.

“The way we benefit from open source is that … it will drive demand for AI, it will drive training needs, and we see in the future a lot of needs for inference,” he said.

Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, has made substantial investments in AI and cloud computing alongside its main e-commerce operations, following a sweeping restructuring initiative launched two years ago to streamline its vast empire.

Visitors attend the Vivatech fair, one of Europe’s biggest tech industry shows. Photo: AP

A vibrant consumer internet landscape in China, combined with a competitive culture among local engineers, is driving the country’s AI innovation, according to Tsai.

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