Shares in Chinese tech giant Alibaba experienced a significant boost, rising approximately 9% in Hong Kong. This surge followed an announcement by CEO Eddie Wu indicating an increase in the company's artificial intelligence (AI) budget. The move signals Alibaba's commitment to staying at the forefront of the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Key Takeaways
Alibaba's stock price climbed nearly 9% following CEO Eddie Wu's pledge to increase AI spending.
The company is launching its most powerful AI model to date, Qwen3-Max, boasting over one trillion parameters.
Alibaba claims its new AI model outperforms key rivals in certain benchmarks.
The increased investment comes amidst global AI development acceleration and potential challenges related to AI chip access.
Increased AI Budget and New Model Launch
Alibaba's CEO, Eddie Wu, revealed plans to lift the firm's AI budget during a company conference in Hangzhou, China. This announcement coincided with the launch of Alibaba's latest AI model, Qwen3-Max. The company's Chief Technology Officer, Zhou Jingren, stated that the model contains over one trillion parameters, which are crucial for determining how the system processes information and makes predictions.
Alibaba has asserted that its Qwen3-Max model demonstrates superior performance compared to competitors such as Anthropic's Claude and DeepSeek-V3.1, citing third-party benchmarks as evidence.
Strategic Investment in AI Infrastructure
Wu highlighted the rapid pace of industry development and the escalating demand for AI infrastructure. He confirmed that Alibaba is actively proceeding with its previously announced investment of 380 billion yuan (€45 billion) in AI-related infrastructure over the next three years and intends to allocate additional funds. Wu projected that global investment in AI will surpass $4 trillion (€3.4 trillion) within the next five years, underscoring the strategic importance of these investments for companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and JD.com, as well as major US tech firms.
Navigating Chip Access Challenges
Despite its ambitious AI plans, Alibaba, like other Chinese tech firms, faces potential hurdles related to access restrictions on AI processors from manufacturers like Nvidia. Recent reports suggest a ban on China's largest tech companies purchasing certain Nvidia AI chips, a move aimed at bolstering China's domestic chip industry and reducing reliance on US technology. This follows earlier advisories against purchasing Nvidia's H20 chip, designed for the Chinese market, due to perceived national security risks.