Alibaba competes with Xiaomi and Baidu in the Chinese smart speaker market
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding said it will invest 10 billion yuan (about $ 1.41 billion) in artificial intelligence and the Internet of things, the key components of which will be the Tmall Genie smart speaker. This step is part of the company’s expansion strategy.
According to Alibaba, funds will be used to add content for Tmall Genie and to develop proprietary technologies.
The first Tmall Genie model was released in 2017. Like the Amazon Echo column, which is not sold in China, the device can interact with users through a voice interface. It is able to play sound recordings, report weather forecasts and perform other similar functions.
Over the years, the company has released several models, including devices with displays. The latest model, announced last week, has a 10-inch screen and costs less than $ 80.
Alibaba competes with Xiaomi and Baidu in the Chinese smart speaker market. According to Canalys analysts, last year Alibaba shipped 16.8 million smart speakers, Baidu shipped 17.3 million.
