Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s (NYSE:BABA) cloud business is expanding deeper into Latin America as the company builds out artificial intelligence infrastructure and local cloud capacity in Brazil.
Alibaba Cloud launched its first cloud region in South America, opening two data centers in São Paulo that give Brazilian customers local access to computing, storage, networking, big data and other cloud services.
The launch follows Alibaba Cloud’s Mexico region, which opened in February last year, and broadens the company’s regional infrastructure footprint.
Alibaba Cloud Expands In Brazil
Alibaba Cloud said the new facilities will support low-latency workloads, resilience and local data governance for businesses operating mission-critical applications, China Daily reported on Friday.
Allen Guo, general manager of Latin America and vice president of international business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, called Brazil a key market for the company’s Latin American expansion.
Alibaba Builds Local Partnerships
Alibaba Cloud is also expanding its Brazilian partner network.
Technology provider Insi is working with Alibaba Cloud to support digital transformation among large and midsize companies.
Insi Chief Revenue Officer Roberto Certo said the local cloud region would help customers meet performance, security and data-residency requirements.
Brazilian open-source software company 4Linux is also working with Alibaba Cloud to bring AI models and cloud infrastructure to local enterprises.
Benchmark Sees Alibaba Cloud Entering Structural Growth Phase
Benchmark analyst Fawne Jiang said Alibaba’s AI and cloud business has entered a structural growth phase, supported by accelerating demand, improving margins and rising AI adoption.
She highlighted 45% year-over-year cloud revenue growth and said agentic AI should drive greater demand for computing, storage, databases and networking.
Jiang also sees Alibaba’s Qwen models, cloud infrastructure and T-Head chips creating cost and competitive advantages. She maintained a Buy rating and $220 price forecast, calling Alibaba the best-positioned AI investment within China’s internet sector.
Top ETF Exposure
- Baron Emerging Markets Select ETF (NYSE:BCEM): 2.35% Weight
- Nomura Focused Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NASDAQ:EMEQ): 2.44% Weight
- Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (NYSE:THNQ): 2.26% Weight
Significance: Because BABA carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.
BABA Stock Price Activity: Alibaba shares were trading higher by 0.95% at $112.87 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo by Karolis Kavolelis via Shutterstock
