Alibaba Group Holding has unleashed a financial revenue tsunami, announcing an 8% quarterly growth to $38.4 billion fueled by its aggressive artificial intelligence expansion. The Chinese e-commerce titan’s net income rocketed to $6.71 billion, while its U.S.-listed shares surged 12% post-announcement.
CEO Eddie Wu dropped strategic bombshells during Thursday’s earnings call, declaring:
We’ll triple AI infrastructure spending beyond our past decade’s investments. AGI isn’t just a goal – it’s our corporate survival toolkit for an era-defining tech war.
Alibaba’s AI arsenal now includes:
- Qwen models topping global performance benchmarks
- Secret Apple partnership embedding AI in Chinese iPhones
- Cloud unit revival with 13% revenue growth
The company’s international commerce division exploded with 32% growth, powered by cross-border platforms like AliExpress. This comeback defies its 2020 regulatory crisis when Beijing crushed Ant Group’s IPO and impose a record $2.8 billion antitrust fine.
Beijing’s tech cold war priorities are reshaping Alibaba’s trajectory. President Xi Jinping recently hosted founder Jack Ma in closed-door meetings, signaling regime support for tech leaders battling U.S. semiconductor restrictions. Analysts attribute Alibaba’s 60% annual stock rally to three drivers:
1. Breakthroughs in cheaper AI chip alternatives
2. DeepSeek’s hardware-defying language models
3. Cross-border cloud partnerships dodging U.S. sanctions
As Wu prepares to pour billions into AGI labs, industry watchers question whether Alibaba can maintain its velocity against NVIDIA-dependent American rivals. With AI spending set to dominate budgets through 2027, this quarter marks China’s opening salvo in the global silicon cage match.