Alibaba Slashes Cloud Prices Globally as AI Demand Quickens
- Alibaba triggered a cloud price war in China with recent cuts
- Company is spending to protect market share in key areas
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is cutting prices for cloud customers from the US to Singapore by as much as 59%, mirroring deep discounts at home as the once high-flying division struggles to fend off rivals and revive growth.
The move coincides with a surge in demand for cloud computing to support a global boom in AI development, as well as a complicated internal restructuring. Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu is spearheading a far-reaching overhaul to try and revitalize Alibaba’s main businesses including ecommerce. Alibaba canceled plans for a public listing of the cloud business in November, citing difficulties getting the high-end Nvidia Corp. chips it needs to compete, and has faced rising competition from Tencent Holdings Ltd. and state-backed providers.