Alibaba has announced a series of milestones from the first half of 2026, underscoring its continued investment in artificial intelligence as the company strengthens its full-stack AI ecosystem and expands its global cloud infrastructure.

As enterprise AI adoption accelerates beyond early experimentation, Alibaba said it has aligned its AI operations, introduced new foundation models, and expanded Alibaba Cloud’s global network to 105 availability zones across 32 regions, supporting customers with scalable cloud and AI services worldwide.

With capabilities spanning proprietary AI chips, cloud infrastructure, large language models, and AI applications, the company aims to position itself for the next phase of AI-driven growth.

Alibaba consolidates AI operations

In March, Alibaba established the Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) Business Group under Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu, bringing together its Tongyi Laboratory, Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) Business Line, Qwen Business Unit, Wukong Business Unit, and AI Innovation Business Unit.

The reorganization is designed to unify Alibaba’s core AI teams around a single objective: creating, delivering, and applying AI tokens across products and services.

New AI models unveiled

Alibaba introduced several new AI models during the first half of the year.

In May, the company launched Qwen3.7-Max, its latest large language model designed for advanced coding assistance, complex reasoning, and long-horizon task execution. According to Alibaba, the model performs competitively with leading global AI systems.

The company also expanded its generative AI portfolio with HappyHorse 1.1, a video generation model featuring improved motion realism and visual consistency. Since the release of its predecessor in April, the technology has been adopted across short-form content creation, advertising, marketing, and game cinematics.

Completing the lineup is HappyOyster 1.0, an interactive world model that enables creators to build rewindable storylines and interactive experiences for films, games, and other visual content.

Expanding the Qwen ecosystem

Alibaba also continued to grow its consumer and enterprise AI offerings under the Qwen brand.

The upgraded Qwen App now integrates services across Alibaba’s ecosystem, including Taobao, Alipay, Fliggy, and Amap, allowing users to complete shopping, payments, travel bookings, and navigation through a conversational AI interface.

Meanwhile, the company showcased Qwen Glasses at MWC Barcelona, featuring real-time translation, voice-controlled services, HD image capture, transcription, visual recognition, and mobile payments.

For enterprise customers, Alibaba introduced the Wukong Platform, an AI agent platform designed to automate complex, multi-step workflows and support autonomous business operations.

Expanding global AI infrastructure

As part of its previously announced US$53 billion investment in AI infrastructure, Alibaba expanded its global cloud network with new data centers in Japan, Malaysia, France, and Mexico.

The expansion brings Alibaba Cloud’s global presence to 105 availability zones across 32 regions, providing enterprise customers with secure, scalable cloud infrastructure while complying with local data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements.

AI applications in healthcare and agriculture

Alibaba also highlighted practical AI deployments across healthcare and agriculture.

Through Alibaba DAMO Academy, the company introduced two AI-powered medical screening tools in early 2026. MAOSS is designed for the early detection of fatty liver disease, while COCA assists in colorectal cancer screening, both aiming to improve diagnostic accuracy and accessibility.

In agriculture, Alibaba partnered with Muyuan Group, one of the world’s largest livestock producers, to develop an intelligent swine farming AI model powered by the Qwen large language model. The partnership focuses on optimizing feed nutrition, breeding, livestock management, and overall farming efficiency.

Building for the next phase of AI

Alibaba said the developments reflect its strategy of deploying AI across industries while combining advances in infrastructure, foundation models, and enterprise applications.

Looking ahead, the company plans to continue expanding its AI capabilities, global cloud footprint, and industry partnerships as it seeks to support the next wave of AI innovation for businesses and consumers worldwide.