Damo Academy, Alibaba Group’s in-house research institute, has announced the launch of a joint lab with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei, capital of the eastern province of Anhui. There, the two partners will conduct fundamental research on cutting-edge technologies in the fields of AI, including cognitive AI.

The Alibaba DAMO Academy works with top universities and research institutes to explore, define and solve technical problems. In fact, it has established the Alibaba Innovative Research Program (AIR) and the Alibaba Research Fellowship (ARF), which encourage collaboration between Alibaba Group and academia.

Alibaba’s academic collaboration aims to promote cutting-edge technology studies in computer-related research areas and stimulate the conversion of research results into practical applications

The DAMO-USTC Joint Laboratory

Alibaba is one of the first Chinese technology companies to deploy AI technology, and on its part, USTC is known for its excellent academic research in the field of AI.

Through this joint lab, both partners will be able to strengthen their complementary expertise, harness the potential of scientific research to achieve breakthroughs in certain technology areas. The lab will focus on research in cognitive intelligence, speech recognition, natural language processing, computer vision, intelligent data processing and privacy.

On the other hand, it will create opportunities for students: creation of AI courses, AI innovation competitions and development of open source AI communities.

The lab will be co-led by Li Xiangyang, executive dean of the School of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Science and Technology, and Zhou Jingren, senior vice president of Alibaba Group and vice president of the Alibaba DAMO Academy.

Zhou Jingren explains:

“The cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence is far from over. Alibaba will continue to invest in this technology: that’s why we are co-creating this lab.

Alibaba is actively contributing to business innovation, developing artificial intelligence technology and supporting talent for artificial intelligence.”
Bao Xinhe, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of USTC, adds:

“The two organizations have been cooperating for many years in scientific research and training, and have a strong basis for cooperation. We are creating this laboratory with the hope of advancing research and thus legitimizing our place in this sector.”

Creation of a second lab dedicated to AI

The South China Morning Post, a newspaper owned by Alibaba, recalling that the United States had tightened restrictions on the country’s access to various advanced technologies, including AI chips, announced a few days later, the launch of the AI Innovation Joint Lab, a joint laboratory between Alibaba’s online advertising subsidiary Alimama and Peking University. The latter will specialize in cutting-edge theories, methodologies and key technologies of AI.

Translated from Alibaba DAMO Academy et l’Université de sciences et technologie de Chine créent un labcom dédié à l’IA