The partnership will see Alibaba deploy its Qwen large language model and Alibaba Cloud infrastructure to transform the fan experience through several key technologies :
This deal extends a playbook Alibaba has already executed at the highest levels of global sport. UEFA joins the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and NBA China among the major organizations selecting Alibaba as a core AI partner . For the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, Alibaba Cloud is already deploying Qwen-powered AI assistants, intelligent pin trading, and serving as the sole cloud provider for Olympic Broadcasting Services
. By replicating this model with European football, Alibaba gains a six-year showcase for its enterprise AI capabilities in front of a massive global audience.
The second catalyst hit on June 2, when Alibaba’s Qwen research lab officially released Qwen3.7-Plus, a multimodal agent model that unifies vision and language into a single intelligent system . Unlike its text-only sibling, Qwen3.7-Max, this model can process images, video, and screen captures—and then act on that information
.
Benchmark results are what caught the market’s attention. Qwen3.7-Plus achieved a Terminal-Bench 2.0 score of 70.3, edging out Claude Opus 4.6 and competing closely with GPT-5.4 on agent-specific tasks . It also scored 79.0 on ScreenSpot Pro, placing it at the front of the open-API GUI agent field for interpreting and navigating graphical user interfaces
. The model can autonomously operate apps, fill forms, write code from screenshots, and automate browsers—capabilities that translate directly into real-world enterprise productivity
.
Available immediately through Alibaba Cloud’s Bailian platform (accessible internationally as Model Studio), the model is priced at $0.4-$1.2 per 1M input tokens and $1.6-$4.8 per 1M output tokens . This pricing and availability signal an intent to commercialize the technology quickly, rather than keeping it confined to research benchmarks.
Taken in isolation, either announcement might have generated a modest bump. Together, they reshaped the narrative around Alibaba’s heavy AI spending. Investors have long tracked Alibaba’s massive capital expenditure on AI infrastructure and data centers, treating it as a near-term cost. The UEFA deal converts that spending into a multi-year, revenue-generating contract with a high-profile global partner. The Qwen3.7-Plus launch demonstrates that Alibaba’s homegrown AI can now compete at the frontier with Western counterparts like Anthropic and OpenAI .
The shift is from a cost story to a revenue story . By locking in marquee sports partnerships and proving its AI is ready for prime time, Alibaba is giving investors a tangible path from infrastructure buildout to commercial returns. The 6.6% Hong Kong rally reflects confidence that the pieces are indeed fitting together.
Comments
0 comments