(Telecompaper) Alibaba said it will be doubling its R&D spend over the coming three years to USD 15 billion in order to develop next-generation technology and explore moonshot projects aimed at upending industries, Bloomberg reported. Alibaba plans to set up seven research labs and hire 100 scientists around the world to push further into artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and quantum computing, the company said in an emailed statement. Specific fields include machine learning, visual computing and network security.