Taobao and Qianwen Fully Integrate
On May 11, Taobao announced that it has fully integrated with Qianwen. Users can now open the Qianwen app and have conversations with AI, which can help them select, compare, and purchase products on Taobao. Additionally, users can click on the “Qianwen AI Shopping Assistant” on the Taobao app to use AI-powered shopping features, including AI try-on, AI price comparison, and AI low-price alerts.
Samsung SDS Consortium Selected to Build Korea’s National AI Computing Center
On May 11, the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT announced that a consortium led by Samsung SDS has been selected to build the National AI Computing Center. The project has a total investment of 2.5 trillion KRW and is expected to be completed by 2028. The center will provide advanced AI computing resources to small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and academic institutions at a lower cost.
US AI Chip Company Cerebras Systems Plans to Raise Up to $4.8 Billion in IPO
On May 11, Cerebras Systems announced that it plans to issue 30,000,000 shares of Class A common stock in its initial public offering. The company expects the IPO price to be between $150.00 and $160.00 per share.
SoftBank Launches Battery Business in Japan to Meet AI Power Demand
On May 11, SoftBank Group announced that it has launched a battery business in Japan to meet the power demand of artificial intelligence applications. The company plans to start producing battery cells and energy storage systems in 2027 and aims to achieve a production capacity of 1 GWh by 2028. SoftBank will deploy batteries in its own data centers and apply them to power grid systems, industries, and residential areas.
Alibaba Launches AI-Powered Customer Service Agent
On May 11, Alibaba launched a new AI-powered customer service agent called AI Shop Xiao Mi. The agent has the ability to handle pre-sales and after-sales services and has been shown to reduce the average transfer rate to human customer service by 45%. The agent has also been shown to increase the conversion rate by over 10% compared to human customer service.
Volcano Engine Officially Launches Agent Plan
On May 11, Volcano Engine officially launched Agent Plan, which provides a subscription service for coding models. Agent Plan includes Doubao-Seed, Doubao-Seedance, and Doubao-Seedream models, as well as GLM-5.1 and Kimi-K2.6 models from third-party providers. The plan also includes internet search and other tools. An enterprise version of Agent Plan has also been launched.
Polish E-commerce Platform Allegro Partners with OpenAI to Introduce Generative AI
On May 11, Allegro, a leading e-commerce platform in Poland, announced a partnership with OpenAI to introduce generative AI into its e-commerce ecosystem. The partnership aims to use OpenAI’s technology to improve search results, personalize recommendations, and enhance customer service.
UBTech Partners with Hitachi
On May 11, UBTech announced that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Hitachi (China) Co., Ltd. The partnership will focus on developing intelligent solutions for elevators, building systems, healthcare, industrial equipment, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Leading Edge Intelligent Manufacturing Delivers First Batch of AI Computing Server Power Supplies
On May 11, Leading Edge Intelligent Manufacturing announced that its subsidiary, Salcomp, has delivered the first batch of AI computing server power supplies. The CRPS 1300W product has been mass-produced and delivered to customers.
