Alibaba.com has announced a significant leap forward in its platform capabilities with the introduction of its new AI Mode, revealed at the CoCreate Europe event in London. The company reports strong momentum in global and European markets, including a significant surge in European orders and rapid growth among suppliers worldwide.

According to Alibaba.com leadership, AI is shifting from being a feature to becoming the core operating layer of the platform. This new mode integrates agentic AI directly into sourcing and trade workflows, transforming how buyers and suppliers interact across borders.

What AI Mode Is and How It Works

Alibaba.com is moving beyond traditional search. AI Mode enables buyers to interact using natural language queries, upload sketches or technical documents, and receive precise supplier recommendations within seconds. The system interprets unstructured inputs, identifies requirements, compares suppliers, and evaluates key factors, including price, logistics, certifications, and production capabilities.

This evolution effectively replaces manual supplier scouting with an intelligent assistant that automates a significant portion of the discovery and evaluation process.

Surfacing the “Hidden Product Shelf”

A central promise of AI Mode is its ability to reveal what Alibaba.com calls the hidden product shelf: smaller, specialized, high-capability suppliers that typically remain buried under broad keyword searches. By exposing these manufacturers, the platform aims to increase sourcing diversity, reduce risk, and support innovation for buyers across global markets.

Why This Launch Matters Now

Alibaba.com presented data showing that European SMEs increasingly prioritize product innovation and are ready to adopt AI tools to accelerate design and sourcing. The combination of regulatory pressure, supply chain diversification needs, and global competition is driving businesses toward more automated and intelligent procurement models.

With European order volume rising strongly and more suppliers joining the platform, Alibaba.com is well-positioned to deliver AI Mode into a receptive market.

The Global B2B Trade Opportunity

With global B2B trade estimated at tens of trillions of dollars, the potential impact is significant. By integrating AI deeply into platform operations, Alibaba.com is betting that intelligent sourcing, logistics integration, and automated trade assurance will define the next stage of cross-border commerce.

AI as the Platform Backbone

Alibaba.com’s framing of AI as its operating system signals a strategic transformation. Rather than bolting AI onto existing systems, the platform is shifting toward workflows where intelligent agents assist buyers from the moment of idea generation through supplier identification, evaluation, negotiation, and transaction.

Implications for the B2B E-Commerce Ecosystem

What This Means for Buyers

Importers, manufacturers, and procurement teams can expect faster, more accurate supplier discovery. AI Mode reduces time spent searching manually, shortens sourcing cycles, and increases transparency across logistics, price, certifications, and production capacity. It could drive meaningful cost savings while improving strategic supplier selection.

What This Means for Suppliers

Specialized SMEs may gain visibility they have never had before. However, supplier readiness becomes more critical: clean, complete, digital information on certifications, manufacturing capabilities, and logistics performance will increasingly determine who the AI surfaces.

What This Means for Ecosystem Partners

Logistics networks, payment systems, and trade-compliance partners may see demand for deeper integration. As sourcing flows become more automated, services supporting trust, documentation, and fulfillment will need intelligent, real-time interoperability with the platform.

Key Challenges to Watch

The success of AI Mode will depend on usability, data accuracy, and supplier readiness. While the platform promises agentic autonomy, buyers will expect transparency and reliability in supplier matches and logistics recommendations.

Data Quality and Supplier Standardization

For AI-driven sourcing to work consistently, supplier data must be structured, accurate, and complete. Gaps in documentation, certifications, or production information could limit the effectiveness of the system.

Regulatory and Trust Considerations

With Europe leading in AI regulation, Alibaba.com will need to maintain strict compliance standards. Buyers may still rely on human verification during early adoption, requiring a period where AI and human expertise work in parallel.

Competitive Pressure

Other procurement platforms are also accelerating their investments in AI. Alibaba.com must differentiate through reliability, data quality, and the breadth of its supplier network to maintain leadership.

Strategic Takeaways for B2B Commerce Professionals

AI Mode underscores a clear trend: global sourcing is evolving toward automated, intelligent, end-to-end workflows.

 For buyers, this means preparing internal data and sourcing processes for integration with intelligent platforms.

 For suppliers, it means improving digital readiness to ensure visibility in AI-powered selection models.

 For platform operators and ecosystem providers, it highlights the need for seamless integration, transparency, and real-time intelligence.

Alibaba.com’s AI Mode represents a significant strategic shift toward agentic AI-powered trade. By embedding intelligence throughout the sourcing and procurement lifecycle, the platform aims to redefine how global buyers and suppliers connect. With strong market momentum and a bold technological vision, AI Mode could mark the beginning of a new chapter in B2B e-commerce—one where intelligent agents drive discovery, evaluation, and trade execution at a global scale.

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Atradius Collections has announced a major global strategic partnership with Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest B2B e-commerce marketplaces. This collaboration will open new international sales opportunities for businesses in Spain and across the globe, marking a significant milestone in Atradius Collections’ mission to support global business growth.

Spanish Exporters Gain Free Access to Alibaba.com’s Global Marketplace

Thanks to this alliance, Atradius Collections’ customers—especially those engaged in B2B exporting—can now join Alibaba.com’s global B2B platform with no entry fee. This removes a key barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to tap into international markets.

By becoming verified sellers on Alibaba.com, businesses will gain exposure to millions of global buyers, expanding their reach and increasing their chances of closing cross-border deals.

Supporting International Expansion Through E-Commerce

This partnership aligns with Atradius Collections’ core expertise in B2B debt collection and credit management by offering a new, complementary service: enabling businesses to sell internationally through e-commerce. The initiative is particularly beneficial for:

• Export-ready companies seeking to broaden their customer base
  
• SMEs are looking to explore new revenue streams in foreign markets.
  
• Businesses that want a secure, trusted platform for international trade
  

Seamless Onboarding and Support from Alibaba.com

Participating businesses will benefit from a personalized onboarding experience provided by Alibaba.com’s support team. This includes:

• Assistance in setting up online storefronts
  
• Operational guidance for managing e-commerce sales
  
• Ongoing support to ensure success in the digital marketplace
  

This streamlined process makes it easier for businesses to transition into global e-commerce while focusing on what they do best.

A Trusted Environment for Cross-Border Trade

“Partnering with Alibaba.com has been an important step in promoting secure and reliable cross-border trade for Spanish companies,” said Martijn Brouwer, Global Commercial Director at Atradius Collections. “Combining our local expertise in credit management and debt recovery with Alibaba.com’s powerful global platform, we’ve created a trusted ecosystem for international commerce.”

Crédito y Caución Also Joins the Initiative

In parallel, Crédito y Caución, another company in the Atradius group and a leading credit insurance provider in Spain, has signed a similar agreement with Alibaba.com. Its customers will also gain free access to Alibaba.com’s B2B marketplace, giving them a powerful new channel to reach international buyers.

“This pioneering initiative represents another step forward in the value-added services we offer our policyholders,” said Sergio Manzano, Director of Innovation and Value-Added Services at Crédito y Caución. “Not only do we help them protect their businesses, but we also provide the tools they need to expand globally.”

This strategic partnership between Atradius Collections, Crédito y Caución, and Alibaba.com represents a unique opportunity for Spanish and international businesses to grow their B2B export operations. By removing the entry cost barrier and providing tailored onboarding support, this initiative empowers companies to embrace global digital trade confidently and securely.

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Apple has officially announced a groundbreaking partnership with Alibaba to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into iPhones sold in the Chinese market. This strategic move comes as Apple faces declining sales in its largest global market, underscoring the importance of adapting to local consumer preferences and technological advancements.

Apple and Alibaba Alliance: A Game-Changer for AI Integration

The collaboration was revealed by Joseph Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba, during the World Government Summit in Dubai. Tsai emphasized the significance of the deal, stating:

“After negotiations with several Chinese companies, Apple chose to work with us to enhance their devices with our AI. We are honored to collaborate with a company of this magnitude.”

This partnership marks a pivotal moment for Apple, which has struggled to introduce its proprietary Apple Intelligence AI in China due to regulatory challenges. By leveraging Alibaba’s AI expertise, Apple aims to enhance user experience and regain competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market.

China’s Competitive Smartphone Market: A Challenge for Apple

The smartphone market in China has grown increasingly competitive, with Apple experiencing an 11% year-on-year decline in iPhone sales, according to its most recent financial report.

Before finalizing its agreement with Alibaba, Apple explored partnerships with major Chinese tech firms such as Baidu, ByteDance, and DeepSeek. However, difficulties in technological adaptation and regulatory approval led Apple to choose Alibaba’s AI technology as the best fit for its devices.

Declining Market Share Amid Rising Chinese Competitors

Apple's market share has suffered as local smartphone brands gain traction. According to data from Canalys, the fourth quarter of 2024 saw Vivo leading the market with a 17% share, followed closely by Huawei, which increased its sales by 37%, capturing 16% of the market.

Meanwhile, Apple’s market share dropped from 24% to 15%, placing it in direct competition with Xiaomi and Oppo. The lack of Apple’s proprietary AI technology in China has been a critical factor in this decline, as Chinese consumers increasingly prioritize AI-enhanced mobile experiences.

Regulatory Hurdles and Future Challenges

The Apple and Alibaba alliance still faces regulatory scrutiny. Both companies have submitted the required documentation to Chinese authorities to formalize their collaboration, but challenges remain.

Geopolitical and Trade Tensions

One major obstacle is the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, which could impact Apple's operations in the region. Trade tariffs, government restrictions, and political shifts may influence how this partnership unfolds.

Additionally, Apple has recently strengthened ties with Donald Trump’s administration during his second presidential term. Tim Cook’s $1 million donation to the presidential inaugural committee and Apple's controversial renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" on its maps application could add complexity to its relationship with Chinese regulators.

Will the Apple and Alibaba Alliance Revive iPhone Sales?

This collaboration represents a turning point for Apple in China. By incorporating Alibaba’s AI capabilities, Apple could re-establish its competitive edge and enhance the iPhone user experience for Chinese consumers.

If successful, the Apple and Alibaba alliance may not only help Apple regain lost market share but also strengthen its global AI strategy in the smartphone industry. However, how well Apple navigates regulatory, competitive, and geopolitical challenges will determine the ultimate success of this partnership.

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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the sale of its 73.66% stake in Sun Art Retail Group, its hypermarket business in China, for a value of 11,383 million yuan (about 1,504 million euros). The transaction, agreed with the Chinese fund DCP, will mean a net loss of 1,741 million euros for Alibaba.

As detailed by the company in a statement sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the sales figure is significantly lower than the 3,600 million dollars that the group disbursed in 2020 to acquire control of Sun Art from France's Auchan in an attempt to lead the Chinese retail sector by integrating physical stores with digital platforms.

This transaction marks a further blow to Alibaba's accounts, which recently reported a $1.277 billion loss on the sale of its Intime department store division for $1.016 billion, a fraction of the $2.5 billion it had paid seven years ago.

Alibaba is loosing ‘dead-weight’ 

Alibaba justified the sale of Sun Art as part of its strategy to monetize non-core assets and focus the proceeds on developing its core businesses. This decision will allow the company to “enhance shareholder returns” in an increasingly challenging environment. Since 2020, the Chinese giant's strategy has been impacted by the pandemic's effect on consumption, China's economic recovery challenges, increasing market competition, and conflicts with domestic regulators.

In response, Alibaba implemented a corporate restructuring process in 2023, which included the recent merger of its domestic and international e-commerce divisions into a single subsidiary. The company, now under the leadership of its new CEO, Eddie Wu, plans to focus on its strategic areas: e-commerce and cloud computing. It also seeks to expand its international presence as part of its long-term vision.

The sale of Sun Art is part of a transformation for Alibaba, seeking to adapt to new market dynamics. While the Chinese giant faces significant challenges, its renewed focus on key businesses could lay the foundation for sustained future growth in China and globally.

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Alibaba unveiled its new tool: Accio, the world's first B2B vendor search engine. Accio will index B2B vendors worldwide and enhance Alibaba's global vendor ecosystem.

Accio offers SMBs the ability to easily access the expertise, information, manufacturers, and products they need to make informed sourcing decisions for their business through three core components:

Accio Search - An AI-powered B2B search engine built to enable natural language searches, providing an intuitive platform for businesses to connect with global suppliers.

Accio Page - An AI-powered feature that provides a dynamic Wikipedia-style interface for product information, as well as objective product details and comparisons to similar items.

Accio Agent - An end-to-end e-commerce platform that acts as your sourcing agent, supporting inquiries, payments and after-sales services through Alibaba's robust infrastructure.

How does Accio works? 

According to CNBC, Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba Group, said Accio uses data from 50 million businesses on Alibaba International’s platform and publicly available industry information. The tool incorporates 1 billion product listings and documents covering industries across more than 100 markets from Alibaba.com, the company’s business-to-business platform that sells to companies outside China.

The company said that businesses based in Europe and North America are the largest group of buyers. In October, Alibaba’s international arm announced an updated version of an AI translation tool to help merchants reach customers in other countries. The company claimed the tech’s translation capabilities beat those of Google, DeepL, and ChatGPT.

Although Alibaba's international business has grown rapidly in recent years, its main revenue driver remains its domestic e-commerce platforms, Taobao and Tmall. In August 2023, management told investors that “the Taobao app has the greatest potential to become a one-stop smart portal for life and consumption enabled by AI.”

During the weeks-long Singles Day shopping festival that wrapped up Monday, more than half of over 500 merchants selling on Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba and JD.com used a generative AI-enabled tool, according to a survey by Bain & Company.

Those features include AI for customer service and content generation. The survey found that 56% of respondents said AI tools had a “high positive impact” on improving productivity.

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34% of this year's online purchases in Spain in the first half were made on Chinese platforms such as Alibaba, Temu, or Shein. 

These platforms have a far higher market share (regarding order frequency) in Spain than other European countries. However, Spanish consumers spend much less on these platforms than consumers from other countries.

These data come from the latest NIQ (Nielsen IQ) Consumer Online Panel report. The report analyzes e-commerce sales of consumer goods in nine countries during the first half of this year.

The research involved countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Ireland. It specifically examined Chinese online platforms, which are becoming increasingly popular in Europe.

The report shows that the market share of Chinese platforms is the greatest in Spain, with 34%. In Italy, 14% of all online purchases were made on Temu, Alibaba, or Shein. In France, the share was 9%. It is followed by Germany, with 8%, and the United Kingdom, with 6%.

Average ticket across the EU 

‘German consumers spent an average of 1,125 euros per buyer in the first half of 2024 on Chinese online platforms’

However, Spanish consumers spent an average of 497 euros per buyer in the first half of 2024. Only Irish consumers spent less: 475 euros. 

On the other hand, German consumers spent an average of 1,125 euros per buyer. And in the United Kingdom, consumers spent 997 euros. French consumers spent an average of 951 euros per buyer.

Regarding order frequency, the United Kingdom is the leader with 22.7 purchases per buyer on Chinese platforms. In Germany, the frequency is 18.2 orders per buyer. Spanish consumers placed 12.1 orders per buyer, which is higher than in Italy, Belgium, and Ireland.

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Alibaba Group's Taobao and Tmall have "successfully" concluded their 15th annual 11.11 Shopping Festival. As reported by the Chinese group, during the campaign, Taobao and Tmall recorded positive year-on-year growth in gross merchandise value (GMV), number of orders, and participating merchants compared to the same period in 2022.

"Taobao and Tmall's strong performance reflects the success of our user-centric strategy, which focuses on competitive pricing, diverse content offerings, and AI-powered technologies that further optimized consumer and merchant experiences during the campaign," said Trudy Dai, chief executive officer of Taobao and Tmall. "Brand membership programs continued to play a pivotal role in this year's 11.11, highlighting our capabilities to support sellers in fostering sustainable consumer loyalty and long-term business opportunities," the director added.

According to the company, competitively priced offerings drove sales growth. Specifically, on November 11, a total of 402 brands exceeded 100 million Chinese renminbi (RMB) on GMV each - over 12 million euros - while 38,000 brands achieved year-on-year growth of more than 100%. The direct discount outlet offering a 15% price reduction recorded 210 million orders during the period, while the outlet with products from value-for-money manufacturers generated nearly 90 million orders.

It is also worth noting that on the same day, 38 online streaming channels operated by sellers generated more than RMB100 million in GMV each, accounting for more than 60% of the channels with more than RMB100 million. Meanwhile, 451 vendor-operated channels recorded more than RMB10 million. 

Aliexpress battle with the EU rages on

Meanwhile, the EU keeps pressuring Alibaba Group, now via Aliexpress. The European Commission has requested clarifications from AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group. Brussels is asking AliExpress to provide more information on the measures it has taken to comply with obligations related to risk assessment and mitigation measures to protect online consumers, including for counterfeit medicines. The company will have three weeks to explain.

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said, "The Digital Services Act is not limited to issues such as hate speech, disinformation or cyberbullying. It also ensures the removal of illegal or unsafe products sold in the EU through e-commerce platforms, including the growing number of fake and potentially dangerous medicines and pharmaceuticals sold online."

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Alibaba International has announced the testing phase of 'Aidge,' its first suite of commerce-focused APIs powered by artificial intelligence (AI). 

The idea is that this suit will help optimize global business operations. Specifically, according to a statement, the name 'Aidge' is an acronym for "AI for Digital and Global Entrepreneurship" and is based on large linguistic models and computer vision models developed by Alibaba International and trained from the company's deep knowledge of global e-commerce operations, enabling it to improve business performance and reduce costs for enterprises.

During this pilot phase, Alibaba International will test over 15 APIs with relevant software partners in SaaS (Software as a Service) mode and ISVs (Independent Service Vendors). These APIs cover various aspects of global commerce, such as consumer insights, content localization, marketing, design, and customer service.

15 APIs working on a SaaS structure 

In this testing phase  Aidge invites SaaS and ISV partners to test and co-define the suite, which has more than 15 APIs and currently supports 18 languages. With its robust multilingual, content localization, and marketing capabilities, Aidge helps companies overcome language and cultural barriers while solving the difficulties SMBs face in acquiring design, marketing, and customer service capabilities. According to internal data from Alibaba International, Aidge has improved order conversion rate, customer satisfaction, and efficiency times in SMBs.

The APIs currently offered by Aidge cover aspects such as:

• Consumer insights: customer feedback analysis and point-of-sale information, among other functionalities.
• Product content localization, both text and images.
• Customer service: multilingual live chat, shopping assistant chatbot, and customer service chatbot, among other functions.
• Design: various design templates that produce marketing or product display creatives.
• Marketing: automated search engine optimization and marketing message generation.

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Alibaba has announced the launch of Super September, its biggest B2B sales event of the year that will run until September 30. The event is expected to bring together more than 40 million buyers and 200,000 sellers worldwide. 

Specifically, the company will offer over 70 million products as part of the campaign. In addition, new customers who pay with PayPal will receive additional discounts of up to $45.

During the shopping event, Alibaba will also introduce its new 'U.S. Certified' product pavilion designed to showcase products that adhere to U.S. standards and certifications, including FDA, FCC, DOT, UL, UPC, OCS and ETL. In doing so, Alibaba.com aims to help entrepreneurs save time.

Super September will have a dedicated pavilion for the U.S. 

It is no secret that Alibaba has been pushing hard into the U.S. market. That’s why one of the main attractions of this 2023 Super September edition will be a pavilion fully committed to U.S. shoppers. 

"We are excited to host the annual 'Super September' sale and launch a dedicated product pavilion for U.S. shoppers," said Tephen Kuo, president of Alibaba.com North America. "As 2023 has brought increased operating costs for entrepreneurs across a multitude of industries, Alibaba.com is proud to offer solid savings and enhanced tools to help business owners execute their product visions efficiently while keeping prices low," the executive said.

From September 1 to 30, shoppers will also enjoy the money-back protection of the 'Business Guarantee' service and 'Easy Refund' service. Alibaba has extended from 30 to 60 days for all 'Super September' products.

Alibaba battle for AI dominance 

Alongside the Super September announcement, Alibaba also threw a punch at the competitive AI current scenario. The Chinese titan made it known several days ago that it has released two large open-source language models (LLMs) in an attempt to take on meta-platforms.

The artificial intelligence models called Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat, each have seven billion parameters, which are often used to measure its strength. One of Alibaba's AI models seeks to position itself as a conversational variation of Meta's recent "Llama 2" launch.

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Alibaba joins the race for AI leadership with the launch of its new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model, which, they clarify in the release, can understand more complex images and text than any current AI in the market. 

Alibaba Cloud is the branch of the Chinese company in charge of developing AI-related projects. A few months ago, it announced the development of its first AI model called Tongyi Qianwen, which can convert text into images. Now, Alibaba has gone a step further with its two new AI models, the first of which is Qwen-VL, which can answer open-ended image-related queries with Chinese and English texts and generate image captions.

The second, Qwen-VL-Chat, can perform more sophisticated tasks, such as performing mathematical calculations and creating a story based on multiple images or answering multiple rounds of questions.

Open Source AI models 

Alibaba's two new models will be open source, allowing researchers, academics, and companies worldwide to use them to create AI applications without investing much money and time in training their systems.

Until now, most generative artificial intelligence has focused on text understanding. However, both OpenAI and Alibaba have laid the foundation for the next trend in this field, where multimedia content understanding is starting to gain importance.

The tech giant has its focus on developing new AI models and, for the time being, is not charging for their use. This benefits the company by reaching more users and continuing to grow in preparation for its IPO.

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