The Alibaba Group senior executive said it was unable to fully meet the demand for AI training from customers due to global supply constraints, indicating a shortage of key components such as AI chips. is weighing on China's efforts to develop advanced technology.
“During the last quarter, we received strong demand for model training and related services in the cloud, which was only partially met due to short supply chain constraints. term globally,” Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang, who stepped down in September, told analysts in an online conference. He said he will focus full-time on Alibaba's cloud business after ceding his role to Alibaba co-founders Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu.
A shortage of high-power semiconductors is undermining China's efforts to catch up with the US in artificial intelligence. Washington has banned Chinese companies from buying the most advanced chips made by Nvidia, hampering OpenAI's efforts to build a rival to ChatGPT. Since then, Nvidia has made an inferior version of its most powerful A100 chip, and major Chinese tech companies including Alibaba have reportedly placed orders worth billions of dollars.
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new regulations that would partially limit US companies' investment in quantum computing and AI in China, which could further detriment. for this Asian country in its ambition to enhance its technological prowess.