Alibaba’s Stock Soars with Anticipated AI Chip Unit IPO
Alibaba Group’s stock experienced a significant surge of approximately 6% on Thursday, January 22, 2026. This leap was in response to reports that the Chinese tech titan is gearing up to spin off and list its AI chip unit, T-Head. As per Bloomberg, Alibaba is restructuring T-Head into a standalone entity, adopting a mixed-ownership model that includes equity stakes for key engineering talent.
Established in 2018, T-Head has been focusing on designing chips for computing and storage. Recently, it has secured a landmark contract with one of China’s largest wireless carriers. This contract involves deploying its proprietary AI accelerators in a colossal data center project. The unit’s XuanTie RISC-V processors symbolize a strategic wager that AI hardware will be the defining battlefield of the upcoming decade.
Estimations suggest that a formal filing could take place in late 2026 or early 2027. The likely listing platforms are the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or Shanghai’s STAR Market. This strategic move comes at a time when Chinese companies are exploring alternatives to Nvidia products, which are currently facing export restrictions. Alibaba CEO, Eddie Wu, has pledged over $53 billion to bolster long-term growth across diverse sectors including cloud, software, and hardware. Consequently, Alibaba’s American depositary receipts witnessed a rise of more than 5% in pre-market trading post the announcement.
Source: Yahoo Finance