China’s Alibaba launches AI model to power robots

Alibaba on Tuesday launched an artificial intelligence model designed to power robotics, as more tech giants push into the fast-growing field.

The model, called RynnBrain, is designed to help robots comprehend the physical world around them and identify objects.

One video released by Alibaba’s DAMO Academy shows a robot identifying fruit and putting it in a basket. While these tasks seem simple, they involve complex AI that governs a robot’s understanding of individual items as well as movement.

Robotics falls under the umbrella term dubbed “physical AI,” which includes machines that rely on artificial intelligence, such as self-driving cars – an area China has prioritized as it competes with the U.S. for technological leadership.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been among the tech industry’s most bullish on the sector and last year said AI and robotics represent “a multitrillion-dollar growth opportunity.”

For Alibaba, the RynnBrain model gives it an entry point into the robotics market and continues the momentum it has seen with its Qwen family of AI models that are among the most advanced coming out of China.

Alibaba is not alone in creating models designed for physical AI. These AI “world models” are being developed by tech giants around the world. Nvidia has a number of models to train and run AI in robotics under the “Cosmos” brand, while Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5 is Google DeepMind’s own version.

Elon Musk, one of the biggest proponents of robotics, is designing his own AI with Tesla‘s Optimus.

When it comes to humanoid robots specifically, the machines designed to walk and move like humans, China is seen as forging ahead of the U.S., with companies planning to ramp up production this year.

Like its other models, Alibaba is pursuing an open source strategy with RynnBrain, meaning developers can use it for free. Open-sourcing models has been key for Alibaba to expand the use of its models to developers around the world.