Alibaba Shares Peak on Artificial Intelligence Investments

Alibaba's AI push sends shares soaring

Alibaba Group Holding's shares hit a four-year high after the company announced that it will increase investments in artificial intelligence well beyond its initial target of $50 billion.

Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said he expects investments in artificial intelligence to reach $4 trillion in the next five years. Wu emphasized that Alibaba needs to be part of that growth rate.

Last February, Wu announced that they would expand their investment in infrastructure for AI models by 380 billion yuan (about $53 billion).

Strong Emphasis of Investment Strategy

At a conference in Hangzhou on Wednesday, Wu said, "The growth rate of the industry has far exceeded our forecasts. The demand for AI infrastructure is much higher than we expected. This is why we are actively maintaining our 380 billion yuan investment in AI infrastructure and plan to add new investments," Wu said.

Immediately after these announcements, Alibaba shares gained 7.2 percent on the Hong Kong stock exchange, while Chinese chipmakers ACM Research (15 percent) and NAURA Technology Group (10 percent) saw similar gains.

Investment by Tech Giants Increases

Leading Chinese tech firms like Huawei Technologies and Tencent Holdings are making unprecedented investments in artificial intelligence, competing with American rivals like OpenAI and Meta. This is translating into a massive spending race on technology that has the potential to transform global economies.