The Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba launched an English version of Taobao, which topped Singapore’s Apple App Store charts.
According to analysts, Taobao, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), rose from fifth to first place in the shopping category. From mid-August onwards, the Alibaba application still gained considerable popularity and was included in the top ten shopping apps for iPhone users.
Its new version can convert prices from yuan to the Singapore dollar and translate product descriptions into English.
Moreover, the tech company noted that the new updates underlined its dedication to serving Singapore users with diverse language fluency. The launch also improves accessibility for non-Chinese users, reducing the need for manual translations that previously made buying less convenient.
In recent years, Alibaba worked on enhancing its overseas e-commerce sector with platforms like Alibaba.com and AliExpress.
The firm said Taobao will first roll out the new upgrade in Singapore with its city-state’s neighbor, Malaysia.
In addition, the Chinese entity mirrors the growing trend of the country’s businesses that aim to expand globally. Their Singapore leverage can potentially boost their chances of reaching the Western Market.
However, CNBC checks found that prices were not converted from yuan to Singapore dollars despite customizing currency display options. Furthermore, translations were more literal than accurate.
Corporate Lab Launched by Alibaba and NTU Singapore
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Alibaba Group released the Alibaba-NTU Global e-Sustainability CorpLab (ANGEL). This came amid hopes to unleash the potential of intelligent technologies and solutions for innovations favoring a greener society.
The corporate lab backed by NRF’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan will work to further collaboration between industry and public sector researchers. ANGEL would address real-world issues.
Moreover, the release mentioned that the ANGEL Green AI white paper by NTU and Alibaba Group outlines 10 sustainable Green AI challenges to be acknowledged.
