(Yicai Global) July 31 -- Alibaba Cloud has put three new hyperscale data centers, with a combined capacity of over one million servers, into service today, as the unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding consolidates its leading position in China’s USD3.92 billion cloud computing market.

The Hangzhou-based firm now has five hyperscale data centers nationwide, forming the country’s biggest cloud computing cluster, it said. The new centers, located in Hangzhou, Nantong and Ulanquab, utilize self-developed, state-of-the-art servers and artificial intelligence chips.

Hyperscale data centers are much bigger than conventional ones and comprise far greater computing power, energy conversation and smart technology, said Gao Shanyuan, general manager of Alibaba’s Internet Data Center Research Department. Altogether, the firm operates more than 100 data centers in 22 regions worldwide with nearly two million servers.

Ali Cloud accounted for 42.4 percent of the country’s cloud computing market as of the first quarter, and has seen its slice of the pie grow for the last four consecutive quarters, according to market intelligence firm International Data Corp.

The company plans to invest a further CNY200 billion (USD28.6 billion) over the next three years to build more future-oriented data centers and develop core technologies such as operating systems, servers, chips and networks, it said in April.

Editor: Kim Taylor