Alibaba Group (9988.HK) revealed plans to invest over 380 billion yuan (US$52.44 billion) into its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure by 2028, marking a significant push to strengthen its position in these sectors.

According to a Reuters report released on 24 February 2025, the Alibaba cloud investment announcement follows the company’s earlier hint of future investments in AI during its quarterly earnings report last week. During the December quarter, Alibaba reported revenues of 280.15 billion yuan.

The newly revealed Alibaba cloud investment will exceed what the company has spent on these technologies over the past decade combined, said Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu, underlining the group’s commitment to innovation and growth. He did not mention an exact figure on the investment amount.

As of the most recent close, its stock has surged over 68% this year, reflecting market optimism about its ambitious plans. In Hong Kong, Alibaba Cloud is one of the technology partners involved in HKMA’s initial gen AI sandbox, which is exploring the potential Gen AI has in banking.

Beyond Alibaba, other Chinese companies are also ramping up their investments in AI.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has reportedly allocated more than 150 billion yuan in capital expenditure for 2025, much of which is expected to focus on AI advancements, according to sources cited by Reuters in January.

This wave of investments highlights the intensifying race among Chinese tech giants to dominate AI and cloud technologies, areas pivotal to shaping the future of the global tech industry.

Source of image: Edited from Freepik