Alibaba announces plans to invest $15bn in R&D over next three years

Alibaba has announced the launch of its global research programme, Alibaba DAMO Academy, and also revealed that it expects to invest more than US$15billion in research and development over the next three years. Alibaba Group’s Chief Technology Officer, Jeff Zhang, will be the head of the Academy.

The Academy will initially focus on the opening of seven research labs in China (Beijing and Hangzhou), the United States (San Mateo and Bellevue), Russia (Moscow), Israel (Tel Aviv) and Singapore.

In a statement issued today (11 October), Alibaba said: “The labs will focus on both foundational and disruptive technology research including data intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), fintech, quantum computing and human-machine interaction. Within those broad research areas, the labs will focus on topics such as machine learning, network security, visual computing, Natural Language Processing (NLP), etc. In addition, the Academy is currently looking to recruit 100 talented researchers from around the world.”

Alibaba added: “The Academy is the first major global initiative to focus on developing the global technological capabilities and infrastructure that will enable Alibaba to fulfill its commitment to serve 2 billion customers and create 100 million job opportunities in 20 years. Alibaba now has around 25,000 engineers and scientists on its staff.”