⏳ Final hours! Save up to 60% OFF InvestingProCLAIM SALE

China's Alibaba invites businesses to trial AI chatbot - media

Published 04/07/2023, 05:01 AM
Updated 04/07/2023, 02:00 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China,  January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
BIDU
-
BABA
-

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tech giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) is seeking companies to test its Tongyi Qianwen AI chatbot, business publication STAR Market Daily reported on Friday, joining the rush to emulate the explosive success of ChatGPT.

The free-to-use ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM) application created by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, was released to the public last November and can generate articles and essays on demand in response to user prompts.

Alibaba has opened up registration for businesses to conduct testing for its AI application, STAR Market reported without specifying details.

A source close to the matter confirmed to Reuters that the application was an LLM targeted at business users.

Alibaba's cloud computing division published a teaser on Friday, posting a message on social media simply stating: "Hello, my name is Tongyi Qianwen, this is our first time meeting, I welcome your feedback."

The official website for the chatbot application merely has boxes to enter phone numbers and email addresses to request an invitation but provides no specific details about its exact use.

Alibaba Cloud did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.

A formal launch is expected at an Alibaba Cloud event on Tuesday. Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group as well as the company's cloud division, is scheduled to speak at the event.

Others to have joined the AI chatbot race include Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU), with its Ernie Bot application open only to trial users at the moment.

On Saturday network gear maker Huawei Technologies is due to stage an event unveiling Pangu, its natural language processing (NLP) AI model.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China,  January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

SenseTime is also holding an event next week to showcase "cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence software".

Last week Alibaba announced that it will restructure into six standalone divisions, each with its own board and CEO. Zhang is set to stay as the cloud division's CEO.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.