Alibaba launches AI image generator Tongyi Wanxiang in China
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Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) (OTCPK:BABAF) launched its generative AI text-to-image model known as Tongyi Wanxiang for testing by corporate customers in China.
The image generator Tongyi Wanxiang is expected to compete with U.S.-based rivals â OpenAI's DALL-E and Midjourney Inc.'s Midjourney.
Tongyi Wanxiang â which means 'tens of thousands of images' in Mandarin â was launched by Alibaba Cloud for beta testing during Chinaâs annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.
Tongyi Wanxiang can generate images from natural-language prompts, from watercolors and oil paintings to animation and 3D cartoons, according to Alibaba's corporate newsroom Alizila.
The AI model can understand prompts in Mandarin and English. Other image generator models such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion have been launched, but Tongyi Wanxiang will be particularly adaptable to companies' needs in China, the company noted.
In addition, on Friday, Alibaba Cloud launched ModelScopeGPT. The framework uses the LLMs in Alibaba's open-source tech community called ModelScope as an interface to link together several AI models to carry out task more efficiently.
In June, the Chinese e-commerce giant announced that it was building its latest large language model, or LLM, called Tongyi Qianwen into its messaging app DingTalk and a meeting assistant called Tingwu.
Following the release of Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT, Chinese companies including Alibaba, SenseTime (OTCPK:SNTMF) and Baidu (BIDU) have launched their own generative AI services. According to a recent study, Chinese organizations have launched 79 LLMs in the past three years in an effort to boost their AI technology capabilities.
Aliba is in the midst of reorganizing its business, as in March the company announced plans to split into six main parts, including e-commerce, media and cloud computing. Earlier this week, it was reported that the company is carrying out a strategic review of its video streaming platforms Youku and Tudou.
BABA +2.70% to $86.10 premarket July 7
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