AUGUSTASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8NEWSROOMBAIDU, ALIBABA LEAD CHINA'S $2.7B AI CLOUD MARKETChina's AI public cloud market surged 55 percent in 2024 to reach 19.6 billion yuan (US$2.7 billion), driven by rapid adoption of large language models (LLMs) and the emergence of agentic AI, according to consultancy IDC.The market was led by Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding, each securing around 25% market share, while Tencent Holdings and Huawei Technologies followed. The sector's growth reflects how AI innovation is reshaping entire industries at unprecedented speed. The timeline compressed significantly: from traditional AI applications like optical character recognition before 2022, to LLM dominance in 2023, and then to agentic AI--autonomous, task-oriented AI--emerging in just the second half of 2024.Among AI cloud service segments, computer vision remained the largest, expanding 34 percent to 8.1 billion yuan, led by Tencent and Baidu. Meanwhile, machine learning platforms surged 163.8 percent to 5.29 billion yuan, signaling uneven but rapid growth across different AI technologies.The competitive landscape reveals a sharp contrast between general cloud and AI-specific services. While Alibaba Cloud leads general cloud infrastructure with 33 percent share, followed by Huawei (18 percent) and Tencent (10 percent), the AI cloud market is more evenly balanced, with Baidu leveraging AI expertise to compete directly with Alibaba.This shift shows how specialized AI capabilities are disrupting traditional market hierarchies, enabling players with focused expertise to gain ground in high-growth segments--even when they lack dominance in broader cloud services. AMAZON NOW ENTERS INDIA'S QUICK COMMERCE RACEAmazon officially entered India's instant delivery (quick commerce) market in June 2025 with the launch of Amazon Now, beginning in Bengaluru before expanding to Delhi-NCR.The move places Amazon in direct competition with Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart, which already dominate the space.To scale operations, Amazon plans to establish 300 dark stores across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru by the end of 2025. However, rivals are far ahead--Blinkit alone operates 1,544 dark stores (June 2024), while Zepto and Swiggy Instamart also run over 1,000 each. Quick commerce relies heavily on dense hyperlocal fulfillment networks to achieve 10-minute delivery promises, making late entry particularly challenging.Amazon Seller Services reported a 14 percent revenue rise in FY24 with narrowed losses, but growth lagged behind pandemic-era highs. The company also achieved record demand during Prime Day 2025, with orders peaking at 18,000 per minute, reflecting strong traction in tier-II and tier-III cities. Still, Amazon plans to restrict quick commerce expansion to metros, citing limited demand in smaller towns.India's quick commerce market has grown explosively, from $0.1 billion in FY20 to $3.3 billion in FY24, and is projected to reach $9.95 billion by 2029. But the market is already highly concentrated: Blinkit (46 percent), Zepto (29 percent), and Swiggy Instamart (25 percent) control nearly 100 percent of market share.Unlike traditional e-commerce where Amazon leveraged COD and partnerships to build trust, quick commerce requires immediate infrastructure investment, making profitable catch-up strategies harder. Analysts warn that the sector's winner-takes-most dynamics may limit Amazon's ability to secure meaningful share. · Amazon launches Amazon Now in India, focusing on metros.· Plans 300 dark stores by 2025, far fewer than rivals.· Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy control 100 percent of market share.· China's AI cloud market grew 55 percent to $2.7B in 2024· Baidu and Alibaba each hold 25 percent share, leading the sector· Agentic AI and machine learning platforms drive new growth
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