{"slug": "alibaba-to-add-data-centres-in-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech", "title": "Alibaba to add data centres in Europe, Middle East amid AI push, US-China tech race", "summary": "Alibaba Group will open its first cloud regions in Turkey, Finland and the Netherlands over the next 12 months and expand data centres in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France and Hong Kong, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence CTO and international business president Li Feifei said at the Apsara conference in Hangzhou on Sep 23. The expansion supports Alibaba's 20 GW global data centre network planned by 2032, which Citigroup estimates could drive more than US$160 billion in external cloud revenue, and follows the company's US$53 billion three-year AI investment plan outlined in 2025. Alibaba also unveiled AI chips it claims are China's most powerful for frontier-model training and said it is training foundation models with five trillion to 10 trillion parameters.", "body_md": "# Alibaba to add data centres in Europe, Middle East amid AI push, US-China tech race\n\nIt is increasingly going head-to-head with Western rivals Amazon and Alphabet in regions beyond Asia\n\nALIBABA Group is accelerating its data centre expansion in Europe and the Middle East, propelling its 20 gigawatt (GW) global infrastructure buildout during China’s escalating competition in artificial intelligence chips and models with the US.\n\nThe Chinese e-commerce leader will set up its first cloud regions in Turkey, Finland and the Netherlands over the next 12 months, Alibaba executive Li Feifei said at the company’s flagship Apsara conference in Hangzhou on Wednesday (Sep 23).\n\nThe company will also expand its data centre footprint in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France and Hong Kong, a move that will boost its ability to provide localised cloud and AI services.\n\nAlibaba’s growth push means it is increasingly going head-to-head with Western competitors such as Amazon and Alphabet in regions beyond Asia.\n\nIts global ambition aligns with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision to share the country’s advances with the world, at a time when US President Donald Trump’s administration wants other countries to [prioritise the use of US technology offerings](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/global/cant-have-it-both-ways-us-tell-partners-they-must-pick-sides-ai-race-china) and avoid alternatives from China.\n\nAlibaba’s global cloud network spans from Japan to South-east Asia and the Middle East. In recent months, it opened new facilities in Brazil and France, aiming to bring generative AI services to local enterprises.\n\n“We are committed to working closely with our global ecosystem to make AI more scalable, practical and accessible for businesses,” said Li, who serves as chief technology officer and president of international business for Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.\n\nAlibaba kickstarted its annual tech summit in Hangzhou earlier this week, demonstrating its full-stack AI capabilities – just days before Xi embarks on his first state visit to the US in over a decade, with AI at the top of his agenda.\n\nThe company unveiled a new line of AI chips it claims are China’s most powerful and built for frontier-model training. It also said it is training new foundation models with five trillion to 10 trillion parameters, far larger than existing open-weight models.\n\nUnderpinning this hardware-and-software push is a plan to build a 20 GW global data centre network by 2032 – which Citigroup estimates could drive more than US$160 billion in external cloud revenue.\n\nAlibaba is among China’s most aggressive spenders on digital infrastructure, which it views as fundamental to achieving artificial general intelligence.\n\nThe company outlined a US$53 billion, three-year AI investment plan in 2025 and has since indicated that capital spending will continue to rise. BLOOMBERG\n\nDecoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.\n\nShare with us your feedback on BT's products and services", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/alibaba-to-add-data-centres-in-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech", "canonical_source": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/alibaba-add-data-centres-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech-race", "published_at": "2026-09-23 04:04:02+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-23 04:53:56.719377+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure", "ai-chips", "ai-policy", "large-language-models", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["Alibaba Group", "Alibaba Cloud Intelligence", "Li Feifei", "Amazon", "Alphabet", "Xi Jinping", "Donald Trump", "Citigroup"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/alibaba-to-add-data-centres-in-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/alibaba-to-add-data-centres-in-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/alibaba-to-add-data-centres-in-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/alibaba-to-add-data-centres-in-europe-middle-east-amid-ai-push-us-china-tech.jsonld"}}