Alibaba Cloud has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: AI Infrastructure Solutions, Q4 2025 report released January 7, 2026. The Chinese tech giant secured the highest possible score of 5.00 in seven out of 13 evaluation criteria, positioning itself among five leaders selected from 13 global vendors. This recognition comes as Alibaba doubles down on its AI strategy with a massive $53 billion infrastructure investment.
What Forrester Evaluated
The Forrester Wave report assessed AI infrastructure providers based on their ability to deliver production-ready platforms for enterprise AI workloads. The evaluation focused on three core components: compute, network, and storage infrastructure that enables AI training and inference not higher-level AI applications.
Forrester examined 13 vendors across two primary categories: current offering (13 criteria) and strategy (multiple criteria including roadmap and pricing). The research addresses a critical question facing infrastructure leaders: Can systems reliably scale AI from pilot to production without exploding costs or operational risk?
Alibaba’s Winning Scores
Alibaba Cloud achieved the highest possible score in seven current offering criteria:
- Configuration
- Data management
- Management and operations
- Fault tolerance
- Efficiency
- Deployment locale
The company also received top scores in the strategy category for roadmap planning and pricing flexibility and transparency.
According to the Forrester report, Alibaba Cloud’s roadmap “coordinates architecture, infrastructure improvements and governance to anticipate and address future requirements, not just the immediate needs of the present”. Customers frequently praised its performance, scalability, open-source innovation pace, and customer service.
Why This Recognition Matters
Alibaba Cloud’s leader designation validates its “AI+Cloud” strategy, which integrates cloud infrastructure with advanced AI capabilities. The recognition arrives at a pivotal moment as enterprises shift AI from experimental projects to production-scale deployments.
Jiangwei Jiang, Senior Researcher and General Manager of Infrastructure Products at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, stated the recognition validates the company’s commitment to building infrastructure that enterprises need to “harness AI’s transformative potential delivering solutions that are not only high-performing and scalable, but also secure and compliant with local requirements”.
The simpler, more transparent pricing structure compared to competitors makes it easier for businesses to plan and consume services. This practical advantage addresses a common enterprise pain point in cloud adoption.
The $53 Billion Investment Play
In February 2025, Alibaba Group announced plans to invest at least RMB 380 billion (approximately $53 billion USD) over three years to advance its cloud computing and AI infrastructure. This represents more spending than Alibaba invested in AI and cloud over the entire previous decade.
Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu described AI as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity, with Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) as the company’s primary long-term objective. The investment reflects Alibaba’s bet that AI-generated data will increasingly be processed and distributed via cloud networks.
The strategy is already showing results. In the latest quarter, Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group revenue (excluding consolidated subsidiaries) grew 11% year-over-year, while AI-related product revenue posted triple-digit growth for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Morgan Stanley analysts noted that Alibaba “seems ready to seize the AI cloud opportunity” and raised their price target, forecasting Alibaba Cloud revenue could double to 240 billion yuan by 2028.
Market Context and Competition
The Forrester Wave report included major players like Google Cloud, which received the highest overall score in the Current Offering category and top marks in 16 out of 19 total evaluation criteria. Google’s strengths centered on its custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), integrated AI Hypercomputer system, and global network handling approximately 25% of global internet egress traffic.
Alibaba Cloud’s recognition as one of five leaders demonstrates the increasingly competitive nature of the AI infrastructure market. The report helps enterprises navigate a “fast-moving, increasingly crowded market” where infrastructure decisions carry long-term consequences.
What This Means for Enterprises
Organizations evaluating AI infrastructure providers should consider three key factors highlighted by Forrester:
- Architecture optimized for workload-specific demands
- Engineering efficiency across compute, network, storage, and orchestration
- Sustainability, operability, and long-term flexibility
Alibaba Cloud’s high scores in configuration flexibility, fault tolerance, and deployment locale suggest it can support diverse enterprise requirements across different geographic regions. The deployment locale strength is particularly relevant for companies navigating data sovereignty and compliance requirements in different markets.
What’s Next
Alibaba Cloud continues expanding its AI capabilities through its ongoing three-year investment program launched in early 2025. The company aims to provide businesses and developers with tools to “innovate and grow” as AI models evolve and require increasing computing power.
The Forrester recognition positions Alibaba Cloud to compete more effectively for enterprise AI workloads as organizations move beyond pilot projects. With AI-related revenue maintaining triple-digit growth rates for six consecutive quarters, Alibaba appears committed to its infrastructure-first approach.
Industry observers will watch whether the massive capital investment translates into sustained market share gains against competitors like Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure—all competing for the rapidly expanding enterprise AI infrastructure market.
Featured Snippet Boxes
What is The Forrester Wave AI Infrastructure Solutions report?
The Forrester Wave™: AI Infrastructure Solutions, Q4 2025 is an independent research report that evaluates 13 major vendors providing AI infrastructure platforms. It assesses providers on their ability to deliver scalable, production-ready AI infrastructure including compute, network, and storage components.
Why did Alibaba Cloud receive the leader designation?
Alibaba Cloud earned leader status by achieving the highest score of 5.00 in seven key evaluation criteria including configuration, data management, fault tolerance, and efficiency. The report also recognized its strong product roadmap, transparent pricing, and ability to address future AI infrastructure requirements.
How much is Alibaba investing in AI infrastructure?
Alibaba Group committed to investing at least RMB 380 billion (approximately $53 billion USD) over three years starting in February 2025. This investment exceeds Alibaba’s total AI and cloud spending over the previous decade and represents the largest computing infrastructure project funded by a single private entity in China.
How does Alibaba Cloud compare to other leaders in the report?
Alibaba Cloud was named one of five leaders among 13 evaluated vendors. While Google Cloud received the highest overall score in the Current Offering category, Alibaba Cloud distinguished itself with top scores in seven specific criteria and competitive advantages in pricing transparency and deployment flexibility.
