Alibaba backs US$2.8b firm in third major AI deal of 2024
(July 25): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has participated in new financing of five billion yuan (US$691 million or RM3.2 billion) for Chinese startup Baichuan, inking its third major AI deal this year as the e-commerce firm looks beyond its core business for growth.
Baichuan is now valued at 20 billion yuan after securing funding recently from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen governments, the startup said in a statement on Thursday. They were joined by existing investors include Tencent Holdings Ltd and Xiaomi Corp.
Founded in April 2023, Baichuan is a leader in the generative AI space in China, one of the first batch of Chinese firms to win Beijing’s approval for public rollout. The Beijing-based startup has released 12 large language models so far and debuted an AI assistant in May, according to the statement.
Founder Wang Xiaochuan, who named his startup after the Chinese phrase for “a hundred rivers,” told Bloomberg News last year that China may need years to catch up with the US.
Baichuan’s Chinese peers MiniMax and Moonshot AI also saw their valuations swell past US$2 billion earlier this year after receiving support from Alibaba.