Alibaba's AI Labs ties up with MediaTek for IoT play

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's artificial intelligence division, AI Labs, has joined hands with Taiwanese fabless chipmaker MediaTek to collaborate on Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives, including building a voice-controlled smart home ecosystem. "Our AI and cloud computing capabilities, along with MediaTek's cutting-edge technology in chip design, provide unique advantages to our connectivity solutions for smart homes," Miffy Chan, head of Alibaba AI Labs, said in a statement. The partnership comes after the two companies collaborated for Tmall Genie, the voice-controlled smart home assistant launched by Alibaba AI Labs in July last year. MediaTech provided chip technology support for Tmall Genie. More than one million Tmall Genie devices were sold in China during Alibaba's Global Shopping Festival in November last year.