Alibaba To Add Data Centers In Europe, Middle East In AI Push

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is accelerating its data center expansion in Europe and the Middle East, propelling its 20-gigawatt global infrastructure buildout during China's escalating competition in AI chips and models with the US.The Chinese e-commerce leader will set up its first cloud regions in Turkey, Finland and the Netherlands over the next 12 months, Alibaba executive Li Feifei said at the company's flagship Apsara conference in Hangzhou on Wednesday.The company will also expand its data center footprint in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France and Hong Kong, a move that will boost its ability to provide localized cloud and AI services.Alibaba's growth push means its increasingly going head-to-head with Western competitors such as Amazon.com Group Inc. and Alphabet Inc. in regions beyond Asia.