China's Alibaba has seen its share price surge rapidly after announcing meaningful results in artificial intelligence (AI) and plans for large-scale investments ahead. Based on the closing price, it jumped about 40% just this month and rose as much as more than 120% over a year. While Alibaba is best known domestically as an e-commerce company, it is also China's largest and the world's third-largest cloud computing corporation. It leads cutting-edge businesses not only in e-commerce and logistics but also in cloud, AI, big data, and fintech.
On the 25th (local time), Alibaba Group Holding's stock closed at $175.47 (about 250,000 won) on the New York Stock Exchange. That was up 41% from the Aug. 25 close of $124.35 (about 180,000 won). On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it was trading at 169.5 Hong Kong dollars (about 30,000 won) as of 12 p.m. on the 26th. In both the U.S. and Hong Kong markets, it has jumped more than 40% in a month and 120% from the 52-week low.
Alibaba's share-price rise was fueled by recent AI results and large-scale investment plans. According to Chinese financial outlet Caixin, Alibaba announced on the 25th that it would increase its AI infrastructure investment over the next three years from the initially planned 380 billion yuan (about 75 trillion won). Chief Executive Officer Wu Yongming said, "The pace of development in related businesses and the demand for AI infrastructure far exceed expectations," adding, "We are actively proceeding with our existing investment plans in AI infrastructure and will invest more."
At a conference held on the 24th, it unveiled the latest large language model (LLM), "Qwen3-Max." This is the largest LLM among Alibaba's models. It announced the related development platform Alibaba Cloud Bailian and cloud AI infrastructure upgrades, and also revealed the opening of its first data centers in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands, along with plans to expand data centers in Korea, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also plans to collaborate with Nvidia in physical AI.
Earlier, at the end of last month, news emerged that Alibaba had succeeded in developing its own AI chip for its cloud business. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Alibaba's new chip is said to be more versatile than existing products and can be used for a wider range of AI inference tasks. AI chips are essential for building cloud business infrastructure. Manufacturing of Alibaba's new AI chip is being handled by a Chinese company, not Taiwan's TSMC.
On the 24th, CEO Wu, discussing the market outlook, said, "Artificial general intelligence (AGI) will not be the end but a new beginning," projecting that about $4 trillion (about 5,653 trillion won) will be spent on AI computing infrastructure worldwide over the next five years. He also predicted that only five to six supercomputing platforms, including Alibaba, will remain.
News of Alibaba founder Ma Yun's return also emerged early this year. Previously, Ma halted public activities and disappeared from view after China's government launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba in 2020 and after his remark that "China's financial sector is like a pawnshop."
According to a report by Bloomberg News on the 16th citing sources, Ma has recently appeared at the company for the first time in five years and is directly leading core businesses such as AI and cloud. Although he has no official title, he is said to be so deeply involved that he receives daily reports on LLM development and exerts significant influence on decision-making. His return is reportedly giving a major boost to employee morale.
Amid a string of positives, Ark Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood, known for investing in tech stocks, resumed buying Alibaba shares for the first time in four years. Two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by the firm added Alibaba Group Holding's American depository receipts (ADR) listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The purchase totaled $16.3 million (about 23 billion won).
Alibaba's share price is seen as having further room to rise. On the New York market, Alibaba's price-earnings ratio (PER) is 21.74, lower than peers Amazon (25) and Microsoft (30). Aberdeen Investment fund manager Shin Yao Ng told Bloomberg News, "Among China's big tech, Alibaba is the most aggressive on AI," adding, "There is ample room for further gains."