The investment signals Alibaba’s ambition to compete with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud as it expands beyond its core e-commerce business.

Alibaba said the total investment amount exceeds the company's spending in AI and cloud computing over the past decade.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s U.S.-listed stock fell nearly 7% on Monday after the online retailer said it plans to spend about $53 billion over the next three years on its cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence infrastructure. The spending plan amounts to nearly eight times its most recent quarterly profit of $6.7 billion.