Alibaba Deploys Visual AI to Challenge Meituan in China's Food and Dining Sector

Alibaba Brings Visual AI Into Food Fight with China's Meituan

Alibaba plans to offer the technology to select businesses for free for a period of time as part of its effort to compete with Meituan in the Chinese food and dining sector. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is launching a service to help restaurants use AI to showcase interiors, part of a broader effort to compete with Meituan in the Chinese food and dining sector. Amap, Alibaba's maps and local services unit, will soon allow restaurants to render 3D-images by just uploading videos or photos, according to people familiar with the matter. The idea is to lower marketing and promotional costs for merchants. Alibaba plans to offer the technology -- based on its visual Wan model -- to select businesses for free for a period of time, the people said, asking to remain anonymous discussing a non-public matter. Chinese companies are increasingly experimenting with AI, to enhance existing businesses and carve out new markets. Amap's latest initiative signals Alibaba's effort to expand in a segment dominated by Meituan, the leader in food delivery, reviews and local services such as restaurant bookings. Alibaba is trying to regain ground in areas such as meal delivery that it lost to its smaller rival in past years, hoping to use AI and a larger financial war chest to claw back market share. In 2025, China's e-commerce leader committed dozens of billions of yuan in incentives and subsidies toward its most popular online services to vie with Meituan and JD.com Inc. The three-way battle compressed margins and drew warnings from Beijing. Amap's new AI-enhanced restaurants service stems from Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu's ambition to integrate AI into all of its businesses and use the new technology to drive growth, echoing similar efforts at major tech companies including Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Alibaba Arms Restaurants With AI To Take On Meituan - Alibaba Gr Hldgs (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) is expanding the use of artificial intelligence across its local services ecosystem as it seeks to enhance its moat in China's competitive food and dining market. AI-Powered Restaurant Showcases Take Shape The company is launching a new AI-powered service designed to help restaurants digitally showcase their interiors. The feature aligns with CEO Eddie Wu's strategy, mirroring similar initiatives at global tech rivals such as Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, and Tencent Holding Ltd. (OTC:TCEHY). Also Read: China Fears Hammer Alibaba, Traders Circle The Dip Challenging Meituan In Local Services It also marks the e-commerce juggernaut's efforts to challenge Meituan (OTC:MPNGY) in the Chinese market. Amap, Alibaba's mapping and local services arm, plans to let restaurants create 3D interior visuals by uploading simple videos or photos, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The tool, built on Alibaba's visual Wan AI model, aims to cut marketing and promotion costs for merchants. Alibaba plans to offer the service free to select businesses for a limited period, the sources told Bloomberg. The stock gained over 82% in the last 12 months, driven by its significant investments and advancements in AI, particularly its cloud computing services and large language models (Qwen). In 2025, the company committed tens of billions of yuan in incentives and subsidies across key platforms, a strategy that boosted usage. Broader AI Bets Support Growth Narrative Investor sentiment around Alibaba has also benefited from broader AI developments across China's tech sector. On Friday, Alibaba stock gained after Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) announced plans to spin off and list Kunlunxin, its AI chip unit, in Hong Kong. Baidu said the move would position Kunlunxin as a standalone company and highlight its value to AI-focused investors. Kunlunxin is expected to work alongside local players such as Huawei Ascend, Cambricon, and Alibaba to strengthen China's homegrown AI computing stack. Alibaba is also backing Chinese AI startup MiniMax as it moves toward a Hong Kong IPO. MiniMax plans to list in Hong Kong in 2026 and raise at least 3.83 billion Hong Kong dollars ($492 million), with the deal potentially expanding to roughly $712 million if demand is strong. The offering would value the OpenAI rival at around $6.5 billion. Alibaba and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are anchoring the IPO with a cornerstone investment of about $350 million. BABA Price Action: Alibaba shares were up 0.31% at $156.22 during premarket trading on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Read Next: Holiday Lull, Weak Data Hit China's Tech Stocks Image via Shutterstock BABAAlibaba Group Holding Ltd$156.070.21%OverviewBIDUBaidu Inc$146.21-2.72%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$315.510.11%MPNGYMeituan$26.63-1.22%TCEHYTencent Holdings Ltd$80.55-%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs