Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is betting that the future of workplace productivity runs through AI agents, and it's building the infrastructure to make that happen. The company announced a dedicated operating system for intelligent agents on Tuesday, signaling a major push to embed AI more deeply into enterprise workflows while simultaneously beefing up its computing hardware capabilities.
At an event in Hangzhou, DingTalk, Alibaba's enterprise collaboration platform, introduced Agent OS alongside DingTalk Real, a hardware suite designed as a physical terminal for running AI agents. The idea here is straightforward: if AI agents are going to handle real work, they need their own operating environment and a way to interact with the physical world, not just exist as software floating in the cloud.
DingTalk founder and CEO Chen Hang made it clear this isn't just an experiment. All future AI agents on the platform will be built and run on Agent OS, according to reports. Chen returned as CEO this year after stepping away briefly, and his comeback coincides with Alibaba's broader ambition to scale AI across its entire ecosystem.
AI That Actually Does Your Work
DingTalk also rolled out industry-specific AI applications that go beyond generic chatbots. For schools, there's a homework correction machine capable of grading 100 assignments in four minutes. For businesses, the platform now offers workplace agents that automate recruitment processes, travel expense claims, and marketing design work.
The AI Travel agent is a good example of where this is heading. It can plan itineraries, compare prices across providers, and submit expense claims without any human involvement. That's the kind of end-to-end automation that could actually change how companies operate, rather than just adding another tool to the stack.
Stocking Up on Chips
Behind the scenes, Alibaba is reportedly preparing to purchase between 40,000 and 50,000 MI308 AI accelerators from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), according to TechNode. The MI308 was designed specifically for the Chinese market and has secured U.S. export approval, though AMD has to pay a 15% licensing fee to move the chips.
At around $12,000 per unit, the MI308 is roughly 15% cheaper than Nvidia Corp.'s (NVDA) H20 chip and has faced less regulatory scrutiny, making it an attractive option for Chinese cloud providers looking to expand AI capacity without dealing with export restrictions or premium pricing.
Nomura analyst Shi Jialong remains bullish on Alibaba's AI trajectory, noting that the company is well-positioned to benefit from accelerating AI adoption across China's tech sector. That optimism seems to be reflected in the stock price. Alibaba shares are up more than 78% year-to-date, driven largely by momentum in cloud services and AI initiatives.
BABA Price Action: BABA shares were down 0.38% at $150.66 during premarket trading on Wednesday.