PYEONGCHANG, Korea & HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), the world’s largest retail commerce company, kicked off its first Olympic Games as a TOP partner today with the opening of its showcase – “The Olympic Games on the Cloud” – at the Gangneung Olympic Park. The event was attended by Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, as well as distinguished guests and former Olympians including Yao Ming (basketball) and Michelle Kwan (figure skating).
The Alibaba technology showcase is an interactive, future-looking experience that shows fans, athletes, organizing bodies and fellow partners Alibaba’s vision for a future Olympic Games - one that runs completely on the cloud. Visitors will explore different Games-related scenarios that illustrate the potential impact of Alibaba’s cloud services and e-commerce platform services on future Olympic Games.
“Our long-term partnership with the Olympic Games is the ultimate showcase for Alibaba, both in terms of what we stand for as a company and how we can use our technology to reimagine the Olympic Games for the digital era,” said Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group. “Like the Olympic Games, Alibaba believes in creating a level playing field, giving everyone the chance to compete on the global stage.”
“The IOC is entering into a new era of digitalization which we are doing in partnership with Alibaba,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Alibaba is offering us a unique platform to expand the appeal of the Olympic Games and to keep our fans close. I am impressed by the company’s forward-looking, efficiently-driven work and look forward to ten more years of partnership and even more success.”
The partnership between Alibaba Group and the IOC began in January 2017, when the two signed a historic, long-term strategic partnership to transform the Olympic Games for the digital era. Alibaba will serve as the official “Cloud Services” and “E-Commerce Platform Services” partner, and a founding partner of the Olympic Channel through the LA 2028 Games.
Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain
At today’s event, Alibaba Group chief marketing officer, Chris Tung, also unveiled Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain, a suite of cloud-based and AI-powered solutions that will drive the digital transformation of the Olympic Games to benefit fans, spectators, athletes, venues and organizers.
Built on Alibaba Cloud’s high-performance infrastructure of world-class data centers, CDNs (content delivery networks) and market-leading security services, Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain merges data intelligence and machine learning to re-define engagement between fans, organizers, venues and athletes. Potential applications of Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain at the Olympic Games include:
- Enhancing the Games Experience: Cloud-driven big data can transform the way fans engage with the Games, creating a seamless, mobile experience moving between offline and online. Fans and athletes would be able to get around the city, find their way to the best events, be prepared for the weather, and experience the Games in new ways with the latest immersive technology.
- Smart City Planning for Host Cities: When future host cities start planning for Olympic Games venues, Alibaba Cloud can use AI to perform big data geospatial analysis to pick the optimal locations.
- Safety and Security at the Games: Cloud-based biometric identification at sports venues that can improve access control, security and crowd management.
- Improving Training Efficiency for Athletes: Deep machine learning can help model relationships between sleep, nutrition and the intensity of training as well as changes in temperature, wind speed, and other natural conditions to support athlete performance.
- Expanding the Reach and Accessibility of Olympic Games Content: Cloud technology can improve storage, search and customization of content, making it easier for rights-holders to cover the Games and for fans to find and share their favorite moments anytime, anywhere.
“The opportunity for technology to positively influence, shape and reimagine the Olympic Games experience is tremendous and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet,” said Chris Tung, CMO of Alibaba Group. “Over the next ten years, Alibaba Cloud services will serve as the foundation of our efforts to drive the digital transformation of the Games, creating a more efficient and enjoyable experience for all audiences.”
To follow Alibaba Group and its Olympic Games activities, visit: www.alizila.com/2018-winter-olympics/.
To download b-roll from the opening event, visit: www.alizila.com/video_category/b-roll/.
To learn more about Alibaba Cloud’s ET Sports Brain, visit: olympics.alibabacloud.com/.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.