Features
23 Apr 18

Alibaba becomes AI partner for Daimler, Audi, Volvo

Chinese online retailing giant Alibaba, a.k.a. the Chinese Amazon, is to become the key supplier to three European premium car makers of artificial intelligence technology for home-to-vehicle connectivity, Automotive News reports.

The online retailing giant’s AI unit will supply its AI + Car system to China-built Volvos, Audis and Mercedes. This will allow users to speak to their vehicle through Alibaba’s Tmall Genie, a virtual assistant, and operate their car remotely, for instance to unlock the doors and switch on the climate control. Other possibilities include route planning, systems check and vehicle location search.

"Identifying how to serve car users with Tmall Genie's skillsets is one of our top priorities," said Chen Lijuan, Head of Alibaba AI Labs, in the press release. "We hope the collaboration can create a more intelligent and personalized mobility experience for consumers and enhance users' commute by exploring more AI-powered services."

According to rt.com, Alibaba is the world's largest and most valuable retailer since April 2016, with operations in over 200 countries. Moreover, it has outperformed major cloud players including Amazon, Microsoft and Google in public cloud revenue growth, achieving triple-digit percentage revenue growth year-on-year (source: ComputerWeekly.com).

Picture copyright: Daimler, 2018

 

Authored by: Dieter Quartier