Alibaba co-founder and chairman Joe Tsai told a packed audience at VivaTech 2026 in Paris on Wednesday that the company is going “all in” on artificial intelligence, framing the technology as a $50 trillion opportunity that dwarfs the traditional software market.
“AI is producing units of human intelligence and productivity, driving at least half of the world’s hundred trillion-dollar GDP,” Tsai said during the 18 June session at the 10th-anniversary edition of the European tech summit. “The $50 trillion opportunity is the TAM of AI, and that’s why we’re all in.”
Video of the full conversation is available on YouTube.
A Full-Stack Bet
Tsai outlined Alibaba’s strategy of investing across every layer of the AI stack — from proprietary chips and cloud infrastructure to foundation models and consumer-facing applications. He argued that because it remains unclear where long-term value in AI will ultimately settle, controlling the entire stack provides strategic flexibility.
“Right now, the model companies are very hot,” Tsai said. “But over time that may not be the case.”
The strategy is backed by Alibaba’s e-commerce engine, which Tsai said generates roughly $25 billion in annual free cash flow. The company pledged in early 2025 to invest more than $53 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure over three years. Tsai dismissed concerns about an infrastructure bubble, arguing the spending is proportionate to AI’s economic potential.
He highlighted the company’s Qwen family of open-source large language models, now among the most widely deployed globally, and pointed to partnerships with BMW, Siemens and Bosch as evidence of growing enterprise trust in Alibaba’s cloud and AI capabilities.
Europe as a Strategic Front
The Paris appearance doubled as a charm offensive aimed at European customers wary of dependence on U.S. technology providers. Tsai pitched open-source AI as a path toward digital sovereignty, noting that organisations can download and fine-tune models like Qwen behind their own firewalls.
“Right now all of your eggs are in one basket,” he said, referring to American cloud providers. “Why not get a second basket?”
Alibaba Cloud also announced the launch of a new cloud region in France — its third European hub after Germany and the United Kingdom — with agentic AI services for European markets expected later this year.
Tsai closed with an optimistic take on what AI agents could mean for daily life. Standing in Alibaba’s new Paris office overlooking a café, he mused that the people below enjoying the afternoon might already have AI agents doing their work.
“We believe that artificial units of intelligence will be able to add value to human intelligence,” he said.
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