Chinese technology company Alibaba has announced plans to expand its overseas data centre operations, targeting markets across Europe and the Middle East as it continues to strengthen its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company plans to establish new cloud regions in Turkey, Finland and the Netherlands and expand its existing data centre footprint in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France and Hong Kong over the next 12 months.
The announcement was made on Wednesday at Alibaba’s annual flagship conference in Hangzhou. Alibaba, which is one of the leading companies in China’s artificial intelligence sector, has been expanding its AI capabilities through its cloud infrastructure, AI models and semiconductor efforts.
The company said it will “establish its first cloud regions” in Turkey, Finland and the Netherlands. Alongside these new locations, Alibaba will increase capacity at its existing facilities in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France and Hong Kong.
The expansion comes as demand for computing infrastructure continues to grow alongside the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. Alibaba is targeting more than 20 gigawatts of global data centre capacity by 2032, according to CEO Eddie Wu, who shared the target during the company’s annual event in Hangzhou.
Alibaba Cloud is also accelerating its international expansion as it looks to bring its cloud and AI capabilities closer to customers in overseas markets. The company’s international business is focused on expanding computing resources across different regions as businesses increasingly deploy AI applications.
The first of the newly announced European data centres is expected to open in the Netherlands in October. Alibaba Cloud will subsequently add facilities in Turkey and Finland over the following 12 months. The company will also increase capacity across its existing operations in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France and Hong Kong.
The data centre expansion is part of Alibaba’s broader AI infrastructure strategy. The company has been investing in AI models, cloud computing and its own semiconductor technology as competition in the sector increases.
At the same conference, Alibaba also outlined plans for a much larger AI model. CEO Eddie Wu said the company plans to train an artificial intelligence model with between 5 trillion and 10 trillion parameters. The planned model would be several times larger than the current largest Chinese model, according to the report.
Alibaba also unveiled the Zhenwu V900, a new AI chip that the company said would deliver three times the performance of its predecessor, the Zhenwu M890. Wu described the new chip as “the most powerful AI chip in China today.”
The Zhenwu M890 is widely believed to be two times more powerful than Nvidia’s H20 chip, which was custom-made for the Chinese market. The development of Alibaba’s own AI chips comes amid continuing restrictions imposed by Washington on China’s access to advanced US semiconductors used for cutting-edge AI development.
The restrictions have encouraged Chinese technology companies to increase their reliance on domestic semiconductor technology as Beijing pushes for greater technological self-reliance.
Alibaba’s international data centre expansion also comes at a time of increasing technology competition between China and the United States. The rivalry has increasingly focused on advanced technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robotics.
With plans to exceed 20 gigawatts of global data centre capacity by 2032, Alibaba is expanding its infrastructure across multiple international markets while simultaneously developing larger AI models and new chips. The company’s latest announcements therefore bring together its cloud, data centre, AI model and semiconductor efforts as it continues to build its global AI infrastructure
