Also known as Hanguang 800, the company’s first self-developed AI chip is now being used within Alibaba to power product search, automatic translation, and personalized recommendations on the e-commerce giant’s web sites.

 

“The launch of Hanguang 800 is an important step in our pursuit of next-generation technologies, boosting computing capabilities that will drive both our current and emerging businesses while improving energy-efficiency,” Alibaba CTO Jeff Zhang said in a statement.

 

Alibaba has no instantaneous plans to sell the chip as a standalone commercial product, a company spokeswoman said. Overseas tech giants like for example Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc are likewise developing their own custom chips, targeting to improve the performance of specialized AI tasks at company-operated data centers.

 

The chip was developed by DAMO Academy, a research institute Alibaba established in late 2017, and T-Head, the company’s specialised semiconductor division.

 

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