The cloud operator of Alibaba Group has announced plans in the next three years to invest $1 billion in talent and start-up support for the Asia Pacific region.

Alibaba Cloud plans to start its first data center in the Philippines by the beginning of 2021 and deploy an innovation center in Malaysia. The aim of Project Asia Forward is to help 100,000 small and medium-sized technology companies in the region to grow and developers to empower.

The company also initiated the Digi Talents Forward program in Singapore with SCSE and NTU-Alibaba Singapore Joint Research University (JRI) (Nanyang Technological University). The company has also launched this Digi talent forwards program. The parties plan to start a number of AI courses on NTU MiniMasters.

Encourage digital transformation

“Targeted investment to help digitally transform local businesses includes our strategic roadmap for APAC. In view of the impact of the pandemic and the sharp rise in digital business tools we believe these investments are timely,” said Selina Yuan, Managing Director of International Business Unit, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

“Our focus is equally important on the development of talent and the maintenance of a digitally competent workforce that we consider to be a major challenge for many companies to face,” he noted.

Live broadcasting of e-commerce

The company also announced at the summit a live streaming e-commerce solution to assist traders to develop live and interactive channels for online shoppers. The solution is built on the content delivery networks of Alibaba Cloud and offers in-stop live streaming with low bandwidth costs via real-time video processing.

Virtual sales sessions, including live stream, replays, product video showcases embedded in live streaming windows, and live under titles for cross-border live streams, are included Applications.

At the summit, the company also announced an e-commerce live streaming solution to help merchants create live and interactive channels for online shoppers.

The solution is built on Alibaba Cloud’s content delivery networks and delivers real-time video processing technology to provide uninterrupted live streaming with low bandwidth costs.

Applications include virtual sales sessions, including live stream replays, product video showcases embedded into live streaming windows, and real-time subtitle translation for cross-border live streams.

The technology and innovations are crucial to the global recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic, says Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Chairman, Jeff Zhang. These can however only be achieved with the support of digital applications known to people and talents.

“In emerging vertical systems around the region, from electronic trade and logistics platforms to FinTech and online entertainment, we are seeing strong demands for cloud-based technologies.

“We commit to improving the cloud ecosystem of the region and improving its digital infrastructure. In the first digital future, we focus on innovation and investments in data centers and talent development,” added Zhang.