Alibaba is entering the fray of digital speaker assistants in a bid to compete with Amazon The Chinese company unveiled the Tmall Genie X1,' which will go for about $73. Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, speaks with reporters following his meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower, January 9, 2017 in New York City. Alibaba on Wednesday unveiled a new AI-powered smart speaker due to hit the market in August. There's a big new player in the competition to infiltrate homes with smart speakers: Chinese online sales giant Alibaba. The e-commerce company unveiled its Tmall Genie speaker Wednesday in Beijing.