Alibaba Cloud vs Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Alibaba Cloud Recognized as a Notable Vendor in Forrester's 'The Web Application Protection Platforms Landscape, Q3 2026'

Alibaba Cloud has been recognized as a Notable Vendor in Forrester's Q3 2026 Web Application Protection Platforms Landscape, highlighting its robust web security capabilities.

China's Ulanqab Data Centers: Who Pays for the Grid Wait

In Ulanqab, a Chinese AI data center hub, grid infrastructure is still under construction, causing delays between completed data centers and their power connection. Operators like GDS invest before service begins and collect no fees until billing starts. The Financial Times reports about 15 GW of committed capacity, while Goldman Sachs counted 12.5 GW. Data centers used 3.27 billion kWh in H1 2026, up 89.5% year-over-year. Power costs in Ulanqab are about Rmb 0.358 per kWh, much cheaper than Beijing's Rmb 0.80. However, substation construction can take three to five years, far longer than the 12 months to build a data center hall. The article examines the financial risk operators carry during these waits.

• About 15 GW of data center capacity has been committed in Ulanqab, according to the Financial Times.
• Goldman Sachs counted 12.5 GW of operating and planned capacity in June, up from 3.3 GW in July 2025.
• Data centers in Ulanqab used 3.27 billion kWh in H1 2026, up 89.5% year-over-year.

Joe Tsai: Open Source Is Europe's AI Opportunity

Alibaba Cloud's blog features a new post by Joe Tsai discussing open source as Europe's AI opportunity, alongside other new posts on QwenWork, Qoder, and AgentCore.

3M and AWS Expand Optical Connectivity Collaboration

3M and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced an expanded strategic collaboration to deploy and scale 3M's Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) platform in AWS data center infrastructure. This collaboration aims to advance optical connectivity and critical infrastructure for next-generation AI and super intelligence (SI). The partnership is expected to support over 500 jobs directly and indirectly, including more than 100 new roles by 2027 across Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin. 3M plans to contribute nearly $0.5 billion to the U.S. economy through its optical connectivity business. The collaboration builds on 3M's earlier announcement to double production capacity at its Menomonie, Wisconsin, facility. This move underscores the growing importance of advanced optical technologies in supporting the scale and performance demands of modern AI-driven data centers.

• AWS plans to deploy and scale 3M's Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) platform in its data center infrastructure.
• The collaboration is expected to support over 500 jobs directly and indirectly, including 100+ new roles by 2027.
• 3M expects to contribute nearly $0.5 billion to the U.S. economy through its optical connectivity business.

Morgan Stanley: Amazon Top Pick, Catalysts Ahead

Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on Amazon, raised its price target to $350 from $335, implying 40% upside, and named the stock a top pick. Analyst Brian Nowak highlighted underappreciated growth at Amazon Web Services (AWS), particularly in AI-related cloud services like Bedrock. The bank also expects Amazon to benefit from the rise of agentic AI shopping and physical AI initiatives, such as robotics in fulfillment centers. Morgan Stanley projects AWS revenue to grow 47% year-over-year in 2027. The call aligns with consensus, as 62 of 64 analysts rate the stock buy or strong buy. Amazon shares have risen more than 8% year to date. This is an analyst note, not a direct news event from Amazon itself.

• Morgan Stanley raised Amazon's price target to $350 from $335, implying 40% upside.
• Morgan Stanley named Amazon a top pick and maintained an overweight rating.
• Morgan Stanley expects AWS to notch 47% year-over-year growth in 2027.

AWS Tests European Sovereign Cloud Independence

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will demonstrate that its European Sovereign Cloud can operate independently of foreign infrastructure. The test, scheduled for October 24, 2026, will disconnect the Brandenburg-based cloud from the AWS Global Network backbone for several hours, with operations carried out by EU personnel using local resources. This move aims to address European concerns about digital sovereignty and aligns with the European Commission's EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework. The article also highlights European startups building alternative cloud infrastructure, including Clastix, PoliCloud, Verda, Velatir, Zerops, and Cognee, which have collectively raised €117.1 million in 2026. Additionally, the European Commission's €180 million sovereign-cloud procurement framework, featuring Cycloid as the developer portal, underscores institutional efforts to reduce reliance on non-European providers.

• AWS plans to disconnect its European Sovereign Cloud from the AWS Global Network backbone on 24 October 2026.
• The exercise will be carried out entirely by EU-based personnel using local hardware and software.
• Clastix raised €2.9 million in Seed funding for sovereign Kubernetes infrastructure.