Key points
- Alibaba unveils a new AI chip from its T-Head unit
- The company calls it the most powerful designed in China
- Alibaba targets more than 20 gigawatts of cloud data-center capacity by 2032
- US-listed shares rose about 3% in early trading
Alibaba (BABA) unveiled the Zhenwu V900, a new artificial-intelligence chip designed by its T-Head unit, on September 22. The company called it the most powerful AI processor designed in China.
Alibaba also set a longer-term goal for Alibaba Cloud: more than 20 gigawatts of global data-center capacity by 2032. Reuters reported that the company said the V900 delivers three times the performance of its predecessor and can be combined in clusters of as many as 500,000 chips for training and running frontier AI models.
Alibaba's US-listed shares rose about 3% in early trading on September 22.
What the V900 is for
The V900 is aimed at the two most demanding AI jobs: training large models and running them after training. Chinese companies are trying to build domestic alternatives as US export controls limit access to Nvidia's (NVDA) most advanced chips.
Huawei has pursued the same strategy with its Ascend processors, where demand has outrun supply. Alibaba has not released the technical specifications needed to compare the V900 directly with Nvidia's latest products.
How Alibaba is paying for it
Reaching that target will require sustained capital spending. Alibaba has already said it will invest at least 380 billion yuan, about $53 billion, in cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the next three years. In August, the company raised about $10.2 billion through a Hong Kong share placement and said 100% of the net proceeds would go to its AI capabilities. Alibaba shares fell after the placement was announced. Alibaba's April-to-June net profit fell 75% from a year earlier as the company increased spending across AI, cloud, and other investment areas, according to the Associated Press.
What 20 gigawatts means
The 20-gigawatt goal is roughly a six-year buildout. The V900 is part of Alibaba's broader push to build more cloud capacity with its own AI chips. The company announced both plans together, but has not said every part of the 20-GW buildout will run on V900 chips. Twenty gigawatts would be a major expansion from Alibaba's current cloud footprint. It is a long-term target, not capacity in place today. The push adds to data-center electricity demand that is climbing worldwide. Alibaba's filings and price history sit on its stock page.
