By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 26th, 2024
The collaboration between Alibaba and Meta holds significant implications for both companies.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the driving force behind transformative technologies, revolutionizing industries across the globe. In a groundbreaking move towards advancing AI innovation, Alibaba Group‘s cloud computing division and Meta Platform Inc have joined forces to support Meta’s newly launched open-source AI model Llama.
Llama, the brainchild of Facebook’s parent company, represents a leap forward in the world of artificial intelligence. The AI model is trained on vast datasets and can generate coherent and natural-sounding outputs. This advanced machine-learning model holds immense promise, with applications spanning from chatbots to personalized recommendation systems.
Earlier this month, Meta unveiled Llama2, a commercial edition of Llama, offering businesses a robust and cost-free alternative to expensive proprietary models offered by OpenAI and Google. While Microsoft was announced as the preferred partner for Llama2, the company ensured that the model would also be accessible through other partners, widening the scope for businesses to benefit from this groundbreaking AI technology.
Alibaba Cloud to Support Meta’s New AI Model
According to reports, the company has now extended access to Llama2 through its recent partnership with Alibaba Cloud. The cloud division of the Chinese retail giant announced on its WeChat account the launch of the first training and deployment solution for the entire Llama2 series in China. The new development allows businesses to create customized AI models tailored to their specific needs and industry requirements.
“Today, Alibaba Cloud has launched its first training and deployment solution for the entire Llama2 series in China, welcoming all developers to create customized large models on Alibaba Cloud,” the company said.
The collaboration between Alibaba and Meta holds significant implications for both companies. For Alibaba, it represents a crucial opportunity to strengthen its cloud business and attract long-term customers, especially in the face of growing competition within the domestic market and as it prepares for a stock market listing.
Moreover, this partnership aligns perfectly with the company’s ambitions to keep pace with the latest advancements in the field of AI. The move comes as the US government has been trying to restrict Chinese companies from accessing AI technologies, making it even more critical for Alibaba to stay updated and innovative in this domain.
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube Are Banned in China
On the other hand, the partnership offers a unique opportunity for Meta to build closer ties with the world’s second-largest economy, despite Facebook and other social media platforms being banned in China including Twitter and YouTube. These platforms have been prohibited in the country since 2009.
Additionally, this collaboration provides Meta with an invaluable opportunity to tap into the vast potential of the Chinese market. Despite the ban on its Facebook platform within the nation, Meta can now engage with a broader user base, reaching out to millions of potential customers and exploring the abundant opportunities the Chinese market offers.
In recent years, China has been striving to bridge the gap with the US in the field of AI. The government has actively encouraged Chinese companies to develop homegrown and controllable AI models that can rival American firms.
Leading tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent Holdings have been at the forefront of developing their own AI models.