Alibaba, TCL, Other Chinese Firms Show Off Tech Strength at Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

(Yicai) Feb. 9 -- Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding, home appliance titan TCL Technology Group, and other Chinese companies have taken the opportunity presented by the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics to parade China's technological strength to the world.The International Olympic Committee allied with Alibaba to build the first artificial intelligence model in the history of the Winter Olympics based on the Hangzhou-based firm's Qwen assistant, making these games "the smartest" yet, Kirsty Coventry, president of the IOC, said on Feb. 5.Under the partnership, the IOC launched an AI assistant on its website. Relying on Qwen's multilingual understanding capabilities, the tool has studied millions of words from Olympic manuals and can provide mother-tongue consultation services for members of delegations from different countries, enhancing the operational efficiency of sports events.Alibaba's AI tech has also been applied in broadcasting the Olympics to achieve high-precision reconstruction of snow scenes and thus provide the audience with clearer bullet-time slow-motion images relying on a multi-model fusion algorithm.Huizhou-based TCL has provided a range of products and technical support for the venues, broadcasting and media centers, and the Olympic Village. For example, it joined hands with Olympic Broadcasting Services to supply hundreds of large-screen high-definition televisions, digital signage, and light-emitting diode displays.TCL has also collaborated with the games' organizing committee and the Milan government to create a Winter Olympics-themed exhibition hall, which opened at Piazza Duca d'Aosta, where the Milan Central Station is located, on Feb. 5. It featured a variety of products, including TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators, and AI glasses.Clivet, the premium brand of Foshan-based Midea Group, has provided smart heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions, including air-cooled water chillers, heat pump units, and a centralized touchscreen control system, for the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, which can accommodate an audience of 16,000.Shenzhen-based Ledman Optoelectronic provided a 272-inch 8K resolution Micro LED giant screen for the broadcast room of China Central Television at the Olympics, creating an on-site demonstration of the country's ultra-high-definition display tech.The Winter Olympics kicked off on Feb. 6 and will run through Feb. 22, with over 2,900 athletes from 92 countries and regions competing in 116 events.Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev