Alibaba Joins Forces With Nvidia On Physical AI

Alibaba BABA is leaning harder into AI and calling on Nvidia NVDA to help. At its annual Apsara developer conference, the company said it's bringing Nvidia's full suite of Physical AI tools into Alibaba Cloud's PAI platform, giving developers a ready-made launchpad to build humanoid robots and other advanced AI systems.

The move is meant to speed up breakthroughs in robotics by offering a cloud-native platform powered by Nvidia's software stack. Alibaba pitched the partnership as proof of its commitment to Physical AI, saying it wants to arm developers with the best tools to push the field forward. Nvidia hasn't commented yet.

The timing is notable: CEO Eddie Wu just promised to boost Alibaba's AI spending beyond its already massive $50 billion-plus plan. Investors like what they're hearing. The company's Hong Kong shares hit their highest in nearly four years, while its U.S.-listed stock jumped about 9% in premarket trade Wednesday.

By teaming up with Nvidia, Alibaba is betting that Physical AI could be the next big wave and it wants to be at the center of it.