Alibaba to offer Nvidia’s physical AI development tools in its AI platform

GPU maker Nvidia has partnered with China's Alibaba to integrate its AI development tools for robotics, self-driving cars, and connected spaces into its cloud platform for AI.

The Chinese E-Commerce giant will offer Nvidia's physical AI software stack, which can construct 3D replicas of real-world environments to generate synthetic data with which AI models can be trained for robotics, self-driving vehicles, or smart spaces like factories and warehouses. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this marks a significant collaboration, as it brings together the world's foremost developer of chips optimized for training AI models, and a major cloud services and AI model developer.

The deal comes as Alibaba focuses on building out its AI business further alongside its main E-Commerce business.

The company said on Wednesday that it is ramping up spending on AI tech past its previous $50 billion budget, and outlined plans to launch its first data centers in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands.

It is also building more data centers in more countries, expanding its data center presence at 91 locations in 29 regions around the world.

Alibaba also unveiled the latest Iteration of its Qwen family of large language models, Qwen 3-Max.

Reference Sources

1. techcrunch - Alibaba to offer Nvidia’s physical AI development tools in its AI platform

Waymo is getting into the corporate travel business

Alphabet-owned Waymo has launched "Waymo for business," a corporate programme that allows companies to set up accounts so employees can hail its Robotaxis in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Austin and Atlanta.

The move targets recurring corporate travel, giving employers controls over where, when and how staff use autonomous rides, as Waymo broadens commercial uses for its Driverless fleet.

Waymo said it completes more than one million rides a month and that nearly one in six local riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix uses the service to commute.

The company has ramped up service in recent months, expanding paid, driverless rides to Atlanta and expanding coverage in Austin.

An Admin portal lets organizations manage users, create promo codes and pull reports to track ride activity and budgets, Waymo said. Early customers include Phoenix-based online used-car seller Carvana.

Waymo said the business product is in its early stages and will gain more features over time to support organizations of different sizes.

Reference Sources

1. thestarmy - Waymo launches corporate robotaxi accounts to court business travel
2. techcrunch - Waymo is getting into the corporate travel business

Anduril nears first drone wingman flight, promises early autonomy

Anduril, a drone manufacturer, is set to fly its proposed US Air Force collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) for the first time in mid-October, according to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink.

Anduril's drone, designated the YFQ-44A, is one of two that the Air Force is considering for its first increment of the Cca program, along with General Atomics' YFQ-42A. Developing a fleet of semi-autonomous CCAs to fly alongside advanced crewed fighters like the F-35 and F-47 is a top priority for the Air Force.

The service wants a fleet of at least 1,000 CCAs to conduct strike missions, collect reconnaissance, carry out jamming operations and even serve as decoys to lure enemy fire away from the fighters.

Anduril officials said they were "within spitting distance" of the YFQ-44A's first flight and expressed confidence in their ability to adhere to the program's schedule.

Anduril is now in the final stages before beginning the YFQ-44A's flight testing, with multiple vehicles undergoing ground testing at the company's test facility. having several copies of its CCA available will make it easier to launch a "more expansive flight test profile" in 2026.

Reference Sources

1. yahooen - Anduril nears first drone wingman flight, promises early autonomy

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.