Aptos is intensifying its focus on the Asia-Pacific region by launching a new initiative with Alibaba Cloud to promote smart contract programming languages in Japan.

The Aptos Foundation has teamed up with Alibaba Cloud to strengthen Japan’s blockchain ecosystem and improve “regional accessibility in APAC,” the company said in a Jun. 28 blog announcement.

Under the collaboration agreement, both companies have launched Alcove, a co-branded developer community focused on promoting the Move programming language. Alcove’s first initiative will be a meetup co-hosted by OKCoin Japan and Alibaba Cloud to demonstrate the “tangible benefits of web3 and digital assets in Japan,” the announcement reads.

Besides meetups, the Aptos Foundation will also host a series of hackathons for the Alcove community, designed to offer the opportunity to educate the local community on blockchain potential.

Commenting on the partnership, Bashar Lazaar, head of grants and ecosystem at Aptos Foundation, said that both companies aim to create a “vibrant environment that allows Japan’s growing interest in web3 and IP strengths to flourish.”

China’s tech giant has long been targeting the blockchain space as one of its diversification sectors. In September 2023, Ant Group Digital Technologies, linked to Alibaba Group, unveiled ZAN, a brand dedicated to providing blockchain development tools. As Coin Insider Daily reported, the new venture aims at offering a range of blockchain development products and services aimed at meeting the needs of both institutional and individual web3 developers.