Alibaba AI Labs, an AI research division of Alibaba Group, has signed partnership agreements with auto brands Audi, Renault and Honda. Tmall Genie Auto, the AI service developed by Alibaba A.I. Labs, will be integrated into the automakers’ specific internet cars in China. Tmall Genie is an AI-powered smart assistant developed by the Labs.
Audi, Renault and Honda vehicle owners equipped with Tmall Genie Auto will have access to voice-controlled information and services in the near future. Customers will be able to identify nearby attractions and restaurants, book movie tickets, order to-go boxes, check the status of package deliveries, read children’s books and order items on Alibaba’s retail platform.
In addition, car owners with a Tmall Genie-compatible device at home will be able to monitor and control their smart-home devices from their cars in the near future, as well as run a status check on temperature and light, or turn on the heater and air conditioning at home.
By providing AI technologies, including speech-recognition and Natural Language Processing, Tmall Genie Auto is expected to enable car users to access in-car infotainment by tapping into Alibaba’s content and service ecosystem. “We aim to extend in-car voice assistant services according to the demands and needs of our Chinese customers”, said H.W. Vassen, senior director of digitalization and NEV Development at Audi China. “To do so, one of our next steps is to intensity the cooperation with Alibaba Tmall Genie”, Vassen added.
During CES Asia, Alibaba’s B2C marketplace Tmall also announced its tie-up with Renault to roll out an electric car featuring Tmall’s iconic cat logo on the vehicle’s exterior design. The Renault City K-ZE genie edition, also integrated with Tmall Genie Auto, will be on sale in China later this year.
In September 2018, Alibaba A.I. Labs announced it had upgraded its service Tmall Genie Auto by partnering with Volvo Cars and adding car-to-home AI services. Through the partnership, Volvo drivers with a Tmall Genie-compatible device will be able to monitor and control their smart-home devices from their cars, starting 2019. This can include controlling lighting and temperature systems, connected appliances and other in-home functions from the car system.
Over 90 appliance brands are already in the Tmall Genie ecosystem, enabling over 600 smart home appliances to be connected for car-to-home AI services. In June 2018, Alibaba partnered with Daimler, Audi and Volvo Cars to offer home-to-car AI services through Tmall Genie Auto.
