Chinese tech giant Alibaba has announced its plans to invest $1.4 billion in smart speaker AI systems.

Alibaba gained famed as an e-commerce giant, but has been working to branch into other markets. One of its endeavors is the Tmall Genie smart speaker, similar to the Amazon Echo, which is not available in China.

According to U.S. News & World Report, “the money will be used to add more content to Tmall Genie, as well as develop proprietary technology, Alibaba said.”

AI has become the new tech battleground, as companies across multiple industries race to harness the power and promise of the technology. It seems Alibaba is willing to spend big to make sure it’s not left behind.

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