Alibaba Cloud aims high in Southeast Asia in 2025 with new AI partners

China’s leading cloud services provider is prioritising investments in its operations across Indonesia, Thailand and other markets

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Alibaba’s cloud unit is strengthening partnerships in Southeast Asia. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 6:30pm, 3 Dec 2024

The cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) arm of Alibaba Group Holding is collaborating with local partners to expand its services in Indonesia, Thailand and Japan, as the company prioritises markets in East and Southeast Asia in an overseas push.

Under its revamped Alibaba Cloud Partner Rainforest Plan, the Hangzhou-based firm said it aims to work with 100 ecosystem partners next year to develop and provide cutting-edge AI and cloud computing solutions for businesses across various industries around the world.

The move aligns with a broader strategy by Alibaba Cloud to ramp up overseas investments and expand its cloud infrastructure offering in key markets.

“We are committed to supporting our global partners to jointly reap the benefits of the AI era and meet the diverse business demand of global customers,” said Selina Yuan, president of international business at Alibaba Cloud, at the company’s partner summit held in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday.

Alibaba Cloud has been deepening its international push despite geopolitical headwinds. Photo: Matt Haldane

AI has been a key driver of cloud growth at Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post. Alibaba Cloud, which has around 12,000 partners worldwide such as Deloitte and Accenture, boosted its revenue by 7 per cent year on year to 29.6 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) in the September quarter, marking the unit’s fastest quarterly growth in two years.