Alibaba Cloud, the data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has revealed that it will invest more than $28 billion to develop its cloud infrastructure in the next three years, the media reported.
The decision by Alibaba to invest in its cloud computing services is based on the recent spike in demand for video conferencing and live streaming platforms amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The investment will focus on expanding Alibaba Cloud’s technology such as its operating system, servers and chips, in its data centers.
Jeff Zhang, president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and chief technology officer of Alibaba Group, said in a statement, “By increasing our investment on cloud infrastructure and fundamental technologies, we hope to continue providing world-class, trusted computing resources to help businesses speed up the recovery process, and offer cloud-based intelligent solutions to support their digital transformation in the post-pandemic world.”
Alibaba, currently has 63 availability zones, located in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and the US. While it is the largest cloud computing provider by market share in China, it still trails US giants such as Amazon and Microsoft globally.
The investment might help Alibaba acquire more market share globally and help the China-based company better compete with the US giants.
In its home market, Alibaba competes with JD.Com.
Last month, Alibaba Cloud announced that it has offered medical personnel around the world advanced cloud-based technology applications to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought the world into a state of lockdown and pushed the global economy into recession.
The artificial intelligence-enhanced innovations are based on findings and insights with regard to the Covid-19 virus, garnered over the last couple of months.