Alibaba Unveils Advanced AI Video Model with Film-Quality Avatar Generation

Alibaba Debuts Avatar Updates to Its Video AI Model | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. That's according to a report Tuesday (Aug. 26) by Bloomberg News, which describes this move as part of the company's rapid pace of AI upgrades to keep up with its American and Chinese competition. The update transforms portrait photos into "film-quality avatars" that can be prompted to speak, sing and perform, Alibaba said. A few weeks later, Alibaba unveiled its Qwen series of LLMs, choosing to open-source many of the smaller models. Tsai said this democratizes access to AI, promotes third-party innovation and fuels demand for the company's cloud computing infrastructure. As Bloomberg noted, the company is facing competition from the likes of Google, AI startup Manus and Kuaishou Technology, all of which have debuted new or updated video tools in recent months. So far, this pivot has not paid off, the Bloomberg report added. Alibaba reported a 7% increase in revenue in May as it faced a downturn in consumer spending. The company is scheduled to release its latest quarterly earnings on Aug. 29. In other AI news, PYMNTS wrote Tuesday about findings from the the August edition of The CAIO Report, "Tech on Tech: How the Technology Sector Is Powering Agentic AI Adoption," which shows a divide in industry readiness as businesses move from generative AI to adopting fully agentic AI workflows. "Sectors such as software and financial services are surging ahead, buoyed by engineering talent, agile risk cultures and flexible budgets," PYMNTS wrote. "On the other hand, goods and services industries, including manufacturing, logistics, retail and hospitality, are lagging, held back by structural fragmentation, operational complexity and murkier paths to return in investment (ROI). "Ultimately, what the research highlights is that the evolution from AI novelty to full-on AI autonomy turns on two intertwined axes: trust and industry tailwinds. Trust represents the confidence companies have that systems will perform as intended, and tailwinds speak to the strategic and structural benefits tied to certain sectors that help enable rapid, risk-tolerant adoption," PYMNTS added.

Alibaba Updates AI Video Model With Film-Grade Avatar Capabilities

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is an investment holding company mainly engaged in the provision of technology infrastructure and marketing platforms. The Company operates its business through nine segments. The China Commerce Retail segment is engaged in the China commerce retail business. The China Commerce Wholesale segment is mainly engaged in the operation of 1688.com. The Cloud Intelligence segment provides cloud services. The International Commerce Retail segment provides customer management services, sales of goods and logistics services. The International Commerce Wholesale segment is mainly engaged in the operation of Alibaba.com. The Cainiao Represents Logistics Services segment provides fulfilment services. The Local Services segment’s revenue includes platform commissions, logistics services revenue. The Digital Media and Entertainment segment engages in the operation of Youku and Alibaba. The All Others segment is mainly engaged in the Sun Art, Freshippo and other business.