Meta's Llama 2 AI model is about to get a whole lot of use from Chinese companies, thanks to Alibaba

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  • Chinese businesses are about to get their hands on Meta's Llama 2 AI model.
  • Alibaba Cloud is set to become the first enterprise to support Llama 2 in China, Reuters reported.
  • The free AI model will enter China at a time when US-China tensions over AI are rising.

Meta's Llama 2 has a major new backer that is about to make its new and improved AI model available to a whole lot of Chinese companies: Alibaba.

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The Chinese tech giant's cloud division announced on Tuesday that it was going to be the first major enterprise from China to support Llama 2 in the country. It's a move that is set to give Chinese businesses first-hand access to Meta's free AI model, Reuters reported.

"Today, Alibaba Cloud has launched the first training and deployment solution for the entire Llama 2 series in China, welcoming all developers to create customized large models on Alibaba Cloud," Alibaba Cloud said in a statement on super app WeChat. 

Meta launched its next-generation AI model alongside its "preferred partner" Microsoft on July 18, though the model can be hosted by other powerful cloud providers like Alibaba Cloud and Amazon Web Services, which offer the computing power needed to run the intensive technology.

The company said the model was open source, with the aim of making a free-to-use alternative available to businesses put off by the price of ChatGPT's premium model. Commercial entities with more than 700 million monthly active users need to obtain special licenses to use the model.

"We believe an open approach is the right one for the development of today's AI models, especially those in the generative space where the technology is rapidly advancing," Meta said in a blogpost announcing Llama 2.

The availability of Meta's AI in China will likely spark concerns among US lawmakers, who have become increasingly concerned about China's ambitions in the AI field as geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers threaten to boil over. 

During a podcast this month, Silicon Valley veteran Marc Andreessen noted that his discussions on AI with policymakers in Washington had taken on a more competitive tone once China was mentioned. 

Alibaba underwent a major restructuring earlier this year, with the original conglomerate splitting into six different units, following a major crackdown by Beijing on the country's tech firms.

Meta and Alibaba did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.

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