Artificial Intelligence makes eyes soft to the biggest companies and Alibaba, the Chinese Internet giant, is no exception. On Wednesday, the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore issued a press release to officially inaugurate the Alibaba-NTU Singapore Joint Research Institute, which will of course focus on AI research. The press release states in particular that it is the first research centre installed by Alibaba outside China. The objective is the development of in various fields such as health, hosting and transport. Hosted on the University's campus and hosting some fifty researchers from the company and the university, the applications will thus be tested directly on campus in Singapore, initially before being deployed more widely in Southeast Asia. While Alibaba refused to disclose the amounts invested in this research institute, it had indicated last october that it wanted to invest no less than $15 billion over three years in an R&D programme. This alliance between a university and a global Artificial Intelligence company may be an example for many countries wishing to develop their AI skills.