Alibaba Sharpens Strategy Around AI and eCommerce

Alibaba is streamlining its operations to concentrate on eCommerce and cloud computing while embedding artificial intelligence throughout its business. Chairman Joe Tsai announced the shift during a fireside chat at the Viva Tech 2025 conference in Paris, describing it as a necessary move to simplify a company that had become too sprawling. As part of this strategy, Alibaba divested its majority stake in Sun Art Retail Group earlier this year, signaling a retreat from physical retail to refocus on digital services. Tsai emphasized that Alibaba’s main priority is customer experience. He said the company operates on two principles: putting users first and integrating AI into every aspect of its operations. This includes using AI internally to improve efficiency and externally to enhance consumer apps and provide enterprise solutions through Alibaba’s cloud infrastructure. Long before the debut of ChatGPT in late 2022, Alibaba’s engineers had already started developing large language models using their vast data resources. But competition ramped up when Chinese rival DeepSeek introduced its models in January 2025, pushing Alibaba’s teams into what Tsai called “hyper-competitive mode.” This urgency led to the release of Alibaba’s Qwen series of models just weeks later. To encourage innovation and expand its ecosystem, Alibaba open-sourced many smaller Qwen models, giving developers broader access to powerful AI tools. Tsai said this renewed focus marks a return to Alibaba’s tech roots. Since its founding in 1999 as a platform connecting Chinese manufacturers with global buyers, Alibaba has grown into China’s largest eCommerce company. Today, Tsai believes Alibaba remains part of an extremely dynamic tech environment, where companies are eager to adopt new applications and where cultural competitiveness fuels rapid progress. Looking ahead, Alibaba plans to keep innovating in AI and cloud services, while ensuring consumers remain at the center of its strategy.