https://sputnikglobe.com/20250904/alibaba-shifts-focus-to-ai-development-after-setbacks-in-traditional-retail-business-1122725353.html
Alibaba Shifts Focus to AI Development After Setbacks in Traditional Retail Business
Alibaba Shifts Focus to AI Development After Setbacks in Traditional Retail Business
Sputnik International
The Chinese company had previously invested in traditional retail, but after eight years, this resulted in a loss of 40 billion yuan. As Alibaba's growth began to slow, especially in China, the company realized its future lay in AI.
2025-09-04T11:17+0000
2025-09-04T11:17+0000
2025-09-04T11:17+0000
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Alibaba Group is now directing its resources and energy towards artificial intelligence (AI) development, following significant losses in its traditional retail sector, announced He Binqiuan, deputy general director of Alibaba Cloud University and CEO of the Digital Analytics Department at Taobao, during a session on 'The Digital Silk Road: Russia and China in Digital Technologies and AI' at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).Alibaba has spent the past 20 years creating an expansive digital system, covering commerce, logistics, finance, and information transmission, accumulating vast amounts of data. This led to the launch of its own AI model in 2023.Currently, Alibaba’s first AI direction focuses on traditional e-commerce. "With annual transactions on Taobao and Tmall exceeding 8 trillion yuan and more than 8 million sellers, we aim to use AI tools to help sellers reduce costs and improve efficiency. Tasks that once took three hours can now be done in one," he said.He also highlighted the development of the Quark Browser super app, which integrates features like text-to-image and text-to-video conversion, coding assistance, and more. Designed for a billion Chinese consumers, the app currently serves 200 million monthly users.Additionally, Alibaba is expanding its DingTalk app to support 60 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.He compared the creation of modern AI to major historical milestones such as the First Industrial Revolution, the invention of the automobile, and the discovery of motor oil.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20210622/russian-export-centre-welcomes-applications-for-online-goods-and-services-expo-on-alibaba-platform-1083210841.html
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alibaba, ai development, he binqiuan, taobao, tmall, digital ecosystem, digital silk road, eastern economic forum, ai in e-commerce, alibaba ai model, quark browser, dingtalk, artificial intelligence, alibaba cloud university, chinese technology, small businesses in china, e-commerce transformation, ai tools, digital transformation, corporate applications, alibaba growth, technology investments, china innovation, alibaba retail losses
alibaba, ai development, he binqiuan, taobao, tmall, digital ecosystem, digital silk road, eastern economic forum, ai in e-commerce, alibaba ai model, quark browser, dingtalk, artificial intelligence, alibaba cloud university, chinese technology, small businesses in china, e-commerce transformation, ai tools, digital transformation, corporate applications, alibaba growth, technology investments, china innovation, alibaba retail losses
Alibaba Shifts Focus to AI Development After Setbacks in Traditional Retail Business
The Chinese company had previously invested in traditional retail, but after eight years, this resulted in a loss of 40 billion yuan. As Alibaba's growth began to slow, especially in China, the company realized its future lay in AI.
Alibaba Group is now directing its resources and energy towards artificial intelligence (AI) development, following significant losses in its traditional retail sector, announced He Binqiuan, deputy general director of Alibaba Cloud University and CEO of the Digital Analytics Department at Taobao, during a session on 'The Digital Silk Road: Russia and China in Digital Technologies and AI' at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
"Growth for platforms like Taobao and Tmall, according to last quarter's financial report, was just 2%. We believe this is not the future of Alibaba. We must focus all our resources and energy on artificial intelligence," he said.
Alibaba has spent the past 20 years creating an expansive digital system, covering commerce, logistics, finance, and information transmission, accumulating vast amounts of data. This led to the launch of its own AI model in 2023.
Currently, Alibaba’s first AI direction focuses on traditional e-commerce. "With annual transactions on Taobao and Tmall exceeding 8 trillion yuan and more than 8 million sellers, we aim to use AI tools to help sellers reduce costs and improve efficiency. Tasks that once took three hours can now be done in one," he said.
He also highlighted the development of the Quark Browser super app, which integrates features like text-to-image and text-to-video conversion, coding assistance, and more. Designed for a billion Chinese consumers, the app currently serves 200 million monthly users.
Additionally, Alibaba is expanding its DingTalk app to support 60 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.
He compared the creation of modern AI to major historical milestones such as the First Industrial Revolution, the invention of the automobile, and the discovery of motor oil.
