Alibaba Cloud Powered $1B of GMV in 68 Seconds, with Zero Downtime During 11.11
20.11.2019 05:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Alibaba Cloud today detailed the core technologies used during the record-breaking, 24-hour global shopping festival. The data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group applied multiple mature innovations to power the cloud infrastructure and other key AI-enabled features, enabling millions of businesses to reach hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide.
Powerful cloud infrastructure supports extreme scalability and robustness
Launched during the Apsara Conference in September, the third generation of X-Dragon architecture fully supported the shopping event. The Elastic Bare Metal Servers improved cost efficiency by 20%. X-Dragon servers seamlessly integrate computing platforms, including the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) bare metal server and virtual machines, in a single architecture.
Tapping this strong foundation, Alibaba Cloud handled extreme scalability, processing USD1 billion of GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) in the first 68 seconds of the event; volume hit USD10 billion of GMV in under 30 minutes. Overall, Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure handled a record-shattering USD38.4 billion of GMV in 24 hours with zero downtime.
Combining advanced data processing and analytic capabilities with green technologies
Apsara Operating System processed around 970PB of data to support the peak performance of 544,000 orders per second, setting a record during 11.11.
POLARDB, a database developed by Alibaba Cloud, supported sales activity with a peak of 87 million requests processed per second. The new generation cloud-native POLARDB database combines performance with compatibility and availability of traditional enterprise databases in a cost-effective manner.
Through self-developed green technologies, including liquid immersion and deep-water cooling, power consumption for every 10,000 e-Commerce transactions can be reduced to 2kWh. Overall data center energy consumption dropped 70% from last year, saving over 200,000 kWh on 11.11.
AI-enabled features to empower sellers from international brands to SMBs
Thousands of Tmall merchants were upgraded to Tmall Flagship Store 2.0 storefronts before 11.11. Version 2.0 offers a unique user interface with a 3D Taobao avatar for customers to try on clothes and jewelry, further engaging customers via rich, interactive content and an omni-channel experience. The conversion rate per purchase was increased by over 20% from last year, serving 1,167 key brands' flagship stores this year.
Alime Shop Assistant, a customer-service chatbot supported by Alibaba DAMO Academy’s machine learning technologies, handled 97% of online customer inquiries on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall during 11.11. The virtual assistant also empowered hundreds of thousands of merchants on Alibaba’s platforms with intelligent customer services. For example, Alime answered questions during live broadcasts, extracting answers from pictures and responding conversationally. The Alime chatbot service offers 11 languages to support communications between global buyers and sellers.
Alibaba DAMO Academy provides enhanced machine translation technology for the cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress. The technology can help small and medium-sized merchants globally to automatically translate their store and product pages into 21 languages, including Russian, Spanish, Turkish, French and Arabic, for buyers across Europe, Asia, America and the Middle East.
During the shopping festival, the machine translation service was used 1.66 billion times, with over 200 billion words translated in different languages.
Better consumer experience with live streaming and voice shopping
During this year’s global shopping festival, transactions during Taobao Live generated nearly USD 2.8 billion (RMB20 billion) in sales. More than half of the live streaming Tmall merchants selling products such as cosmetics, clothing, food, cars and electronics experienced robust growth, with home décor products seeing 400% sales growth.
This year, Taobao developed a new, real-time communications framework for audio and video on Alibaba Cloud. Network latency was reduced to 1.5 seconds from five to seven seconds, improving real-time interaction experience between broadcasters and users. Video AI identified products mentioned by broadcasters during live streaming, and audiences could view product links simultaneously displayed onscreen.
During 11.11, over one million orders were placed and processed through voice command via Tmall Genie, Alibaba A.I. Labs’ smart speaker. Purchased items during the day included 810,000 eggs, 1.4 million tons of rice and 76 tons of liquid detergent, a sign that voice shopping has become an increasingly popular trend among Chinese consumers of all ages.
About Alibaba Cloud
Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com), the data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, is among the world's top three IaaS providers, according to Gartner. It is also the largest provider of public cloud services in China, according to IDC. Alibaba Cloud provides a comprehensive suite of cloud computing services to businesses worldwide, including merchants doing business on Alibaba Group marketplaces, start-ups, corporations and public services. Alibaba Cloud is the official Cloud Services Partner of the International Olympic Committee.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191119005400/en/
Contact information
Alibaba Group
Claudia Ju claudia.ju@alibaba-inc.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Samsung Biologics Strike: Labor Union Warns of CDMO Supply Chain Risks Following Overwhelming Vote30.3.2026 12:52:00 EEST | Press release
The Samsung Biologics Labor Union (President: Jaesung Park), representing approximately 75% of the company's total employees, announced today that its members have overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike, with 95.52% voting in favor on a 95.38% turnout during a voting period from March 24 to March 29. Following the Incheon Regional Labor Relations Commission's decision to cease mediation, the union has now secured the legal mandate to strike. The union stressed that this strike is not merely a wage dispute. It stems from deep structural concerns regarding the company’s ESG management, lack of operational autonomy, and passive labor relations. Primarily, the union highlighted unresolved corporate governance issues, including allegations concerning unfair labor practices and the unauthorized use of employee personal data, which were prominently reported by South Korea's major broadcaster, MBC, in November 2025. The union believes this crisis stems from management's failure to address r
The Premier Jumping League (PJL) Launches with a Record-Breaking $300 Million Guaranteed Prize Pot, Defining a New Era for Showjumping30.3.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
The Premier Jumping League (PJL) launches with a record-breaking $300 million guaranteed prize pot, defining a new era for showjumping. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330990938/en/ Photography credits: Daniel Benson for The Premier Jumping League/ Wieden+Kennedy London Backed by McCourt Global and its Executive Chairman, Frank McCourt, the PJL is a groundbreaking global competition that elevates high-performance riders and horses to their rightful place on the world stage. Built on merit, integrity, and excellence, the PJL brings together the world’s best athletes to compete for the biggest prize pot in the discipline’s history, helping to create a more resilient, long-term financial model for the sport. Represented by sixteen teams, the PJL will introduce an industry-first rider selection process from a pool of 250 of the world’s leading riders. World-class, immersive events will unfold across fourteen ic
Dompé Announces First Patient Enrolled in New Study of Intranasal NGF in Cerebral Palsy30.3.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
Dompé, a leading biopharmaceutical company with operations in Italy and in the U.S., announced that the first patient has been enrolled at the Agostino Gemelli IRCCS University Hospital in Rome, Italy, in a Phase 2 investigational study of an intranasal form of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) (Cenegermin-bkbj) for the treatment of spastic cerebral palsy (CP). On top of safety and tolerability, the study will evaluate improvements in daily functioning, quality of life, motor abilities, and neurodevelopmental measures of the Cenegermin-bkbj intranasal formulation. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood, caused by injury or changes during early brain development. The most prevalent form, spastic CP, leads to muscle stiffness and difficulty with movement.2 “Cerebral palsy is a devastating disease, and for patients and families there are still no proven treatments beyond supportive care,” said Marcello Allegretti, Chief Scientific Officer at Dompé. “With our emerging intranasal NGF p
IQM Secures €50M Financing to Accelerate Global Growth30.3.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
IQM Finland Oy, a global leader in full-stack superconducting quantum computers (“IQM”, “IQM Quantum Computers” or the “Company”), today announced it has secured a €50 millionfinancing package from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260329996942/en/ IQM Radiance quantum computer is located in IQM's showroom in Espoo, Finland. This facility will support acceleration of IQM’s technology roadmap, fuel R&D, support entry into additional markets, and advance IQM’s leadership in quantum computing. This facility was secured prior to IQM’s recent announcement of plans to become the first publicly listed European quantum computing company through a merger with Real Asset Acquisition Corp (“RAAQ”). The facility lowers IQM’s overall cost of capital and improves the flexibility and diversity of its capital base. “The financing package comes at a pivotal time for IQM, as we build momen
Bureau Veritas and Trade Technologies Join Forces to Streamline Global Trade Operations30.3.2026 08:45:00 EEST | Press release
Bureau Veritas, a global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification services (TIC), through its Swiss branch Government Services Division, is pleased to announce a strategic agreement with Trade Technologies, the leading provider of trade finance automation, connectivity and transaction management services. This collaboration is a significant step toward reducing the complexities of international trade operations, particularly in regions where regulatory and inspection controls remain stringent. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260329411683/en/ Addressing Critical Trade Finance Challenges The agreement comes at a pivotal time for global trade. Letters of Credit (LCs) continue to serve as essential instruments in international commerce, particularly across the Middle East and Africa, where counterparty risk, foreign exchange controls, sanctions exposure, and regulatory oversight face ongoing challenges. In
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom