Reportedly: Alibaba releases Apsara Stack International v3.18 with trusted AI cloud for overseas customers
Reported by Leiphone · not yet confirmed by the company or a second independent outlet. We update this page when it is.
Alibaba Cloud released Apsara Stack International v3.18 at its international Apsara Conference, offering a trusted AI cloud solution for global governments, telecom operators, and large enterprises. The new version provides over 80 full-stack cloud services with 100% local deployment and fully disconnected independent operation. It has been locally deployed in more than 20 countries and regions, Leiphone reported.
China context
- Original name
- 阿里云
- Outside China
- Global API · leiphone.com
- Claims
- Company-reported; not yet independently evaluated
- For builders
- Developers outside China can evaluate Apsara Stack International v3.18 for building AI applications that require local deployment and data sovereignty, with access to Qwen models and OpenTrek MaaS platform.
- For investors
- Alibaba Cloud's international expansion of Apsara Stack signals a strategic push into sovereign AI markets, potentially affecting competitive dynamics with other cloud providers in Asia/Pacific and beyond.
Translated from Chinese. Quotes and facts link to the original sources.
Alibaba Cloud announced the international version of its Apsara Stack (Apsara Stack International v3.18) at the international Apsara Conference. The release targets overseas customers needing sovereign AI infrastructure, integrating proprietary models, private knowledge bases, and agent capabilities with joint optimization across chips, cloud platform, and models. The solution includes AI-native operations management and 24/7 global technical support. Alibaba Cloud states that Apsara Stack has supported over 1,300 large enterprise and government customers, managing over 36,000 P of compute power. IDC ranks Alibaba Cloud first in China's hybrid cloud market share and a 'Leader' in the Asia/Pacific sovereign AI platform MarketScape assessment. The company will provide local private cloud services for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games, marking the first use of Apsara Stack private cloud for an Olympic event. In Malaysia, SAINS is building a government private cloud on Apsara Stack with dual-availability-zone disaster recovery. Enterprise customers AstraZeneca and Boston Scientific have built AI applications on Qwen and Alibaba Cloud's OpenTrek MaaS platform, with reported efficiency gains of 300% in report writing and 80% in knowledge retrieval, respectively.
Apsara Stack International v3.18 offers over 80 full-stack cloud services with 100% local deployment and fully disconnected independent operation. It integrates proprietary models, private knowledge bases, and agent capabilities, with joint optimization across chips, cloud platform, and models to improve AI compute efficiency. The platform includes AI-native operations management and 24/7 global technical support. Alibaba Cloud reports managing over 36,000 P of compute power across more than 1,300 large enterprise and government customers.
Overseas government and enterprise customers gain a locally deployable, fully disconnected AI cloud option, reducing reliance on public cloud and addressing data sovereignty requirements. Alibaba Cloud's expansion of Apsara Stack internationally positions it against other sovereign cloud providers in Asia/Pacific and beyond, potentially shifting procurement decisions for regulated industries.
For enterprises and governments outside China, Apsara Stack International v3.18 offers a path to deploy AI capabilities within their own data centers or controlled environments, addressing data residency and security concerns. The reported customer outcomes suggest potential operational efficiencies, but these are company-reported and should be validated.
Specific signals to watch include new Apsara Stack International deployments announced by Alibaba Cloud, customer case studies from the Dakar Youth Olympic Games and SAINS in Malaysia, and any updates to IDC or other analyst assessments of sovereign AI platforms. Verification of the reported efficiency gains (300% and 80%) and accuracy rates (98%) by independent evaluators would strengthen the claims.