Alibaba Cloud has announced it will launch its second data centre in South Korea by the end of June 2025 in response to the growing demand for cloud computing and AI services from local businesses.
The investment – made three years after the establishment of Alibaba Cloud’s first data centre in South Korea in 2022 – demonstrates its continued commitment to investing in South Korea, fostering AI transformation among local businesses. This launch is in response to the anticipated demand for AI infrastructure, driven by the increased adoption of generative AI services.
The launch of the second data centre also marks a milestone in Alibaba Cloud’s efforts to diversify its products and services in South Korea. With the new data centre, Alibaba Cloud will broaden its product offerings to include a wider selection of cloud-native, big data, and database products that better support customers’ AI applications.
It will bring significant improvements in cloud resilience and network performance, along with enhanced capabilities for high availability and disaster recovery for core cloud products.
“In line with the rapid advancement of AI-based technologies and increasing digital demand across industries, Alibaba Cloud has been continuously expanding its infrastructure in South Korea,” said Yoon Yong-joon, Country Manager of South Korea, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.
“Through the launch of this second data centre, Alibaba Cloud will provide customers with more resilient and adaptable cloud environments, ultimately fostering AI innovation across various sectors and expanding the digital ecosystem.”
Alibaba Cloud entered the South Korean market in 2016. It has since offered scalable, secure and cost-effective services, to help drive digital transformation for a large variety of industries in South Korea while supporting their global expansion outside of South Korea.
Some of them have leveraged Alibaba Cloud’s flagship large language model Qwen and its scalable global cloud infrastructure to deliver innovative solutions.
Univa, a pioneering AI solutions provider in South Korea, has recently unveiled its ‘Agent AI’ solution, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s generative AI technology and robust cloud infrastructure. A critical factor in selecting Qwen was its exceptional performance in Korean language processing, ensuring that Univa’s new solution effectively addresses the specific needs of the Korean market.
Nam MyungJin, CEO of Univa said, “Our collaboration with Alibaba Cloud has been pivotal in turning our vision into reality. Its cutting-edge cloud and AI technology has not only reduced costs by over 30%, but also enhanced Korean language processing accuracy from 45% to 95%.”
Snow, a subsidiary of Naver, leverages Alibaba Cloud’s advanced AI video generation model Wan to support its app’s image stylisation function in China. Powered by Wan’s technology, Snow’s innovative app offers users a wide range of preset styles and the ability to upload custom style templates. This versatile functionality enables the creation of highly personalised portraits tailored to meet unique specifications, providing users with an unparalleled portrait stylisation experience.
Lala Station, a pioneering Korean livestreaming company, has successfully expanded its business into the Southeast Asian market through a collaboration with Alibaba Cloud that began in 2022. By leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s advanced cloud technologies and a comprehensive e-commerce livestreaming solution, Lala Station has developed its global livestreaming platform with robust capabilities.
“Thanks to Alibaba Cloud’s strong global infrastructure, our platform provides not only a rich and seamless online shopping experience for Korean consumers, but also for customers in Southeast Asia,” said Lee Cheol-ho, CEO of Lala Station. “With Alibaba Cloud’s support, we have been able to scale our operations and enhance engagement with our audience across diverse markets.”
Alibaba Cloud is also pursuing a strong partnership strategy to enhance its services in the South Korean market. It has partnered with pioneering local firms such as Megazone Soft, ETECH SYSTEM and ITCENCLOIT to deliver tailored consulting services and industry-specific solutions.
MegazoneSoft Corporation, a pioneering cloud and AI solution provider in the Asia Pacific region, is collaborating with Alibaba Cloud to further expand its presence across key markets.
“MegazoneSoft brings unmatched cloud and AI expertise and a deep understanding of complex digital transformations,” said Mintaek Suh, EVP of MegazoneSoft. “Our collaboration with Alibaba Cloud enables us to help customers who are increasingly asking for scalable hybrid and multi-cloud solutions that are tailored to the evolving needs of businesses in this region.”
Alibaba Cloud entered the South Korean market in 2016 and built its first data centre in the country in March 2022. As the world’s pioneering and Asia Pacific’s pioneering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) service provider, Alibaba Cloud has received the Korea Information Security Management System (K-ISMS) certification for its data centre infrastructure in South Korea in December 2023.
As the most recognised information security certification in South Korea, K-ISMS ensures that Alibaba Cloud’s services and practices are in line with stringent compliance regulations, and enables enterprise customers to enjoy cloud services with enhanced protection.
