Story
Alibaba Shares Surge After Unveiling New 2.4-Trillion-Parameter AI Model
Shares in Alibaba Group (9988.HK) surged on Monday following the company's announcement of a preview version of its most advanced artificial intelligence model, signaling fresh momentum in China's competitive AI landscape.
The company's stock closed up 5.2% at HK$118.4 in Hong Kong trading.
Qwen Model Fuels Investor Optimism
The primary catalyst for the rally was the weekend release of a preview for Qwen3.8 Max, a large language model (LLM) with 2.4 trillion parameters. According to Alibaba, the system is one of the most capable AI models globally, ranking just behind the latest flagship model from Anthropic.
Critically, Alibaba also pledged to open-source the complete model weights in the near future. This strategic move is expected to accelerate adoption among developers and strengthen the Qwen model's position within the growing open-weight AI ecosystem.
Broader AI Tailwinds
AdAdding to the positive sentiment is Alibaba's ongoing partnership with Apple, which uses the Qwen AI model to power Apple Intelligence features for users in China. The recent approval from Beijing for Apple's AI rollout in the country has provided a supportive backdrop for this collaboration.
The market was also buoyed by news from Moonshot AI, an Alibaba-backed startup, which unveiled its own Kimi K3 open-weight model and reportedly plans a Hong Kong IPO. These developments reinforce the narrative of accelerating AI innovation among Chinese technology firms.
Market Reaction
The enthusiasm for Alibaba was reflected in the broader market, with investors rotating into technology companies with clear paths to AI monetization. Hong Kong's Hang Seng TECH index advanced 3%, while the wider Hang Seng index climbed 2% on the day.
Given its extensive cloud infrastructure and robust model development pipeline, investors increasingly view Alibaba as a frontrunner in the race to commercialize artificial intelligence in the region.
Read next
More on Stocks
FTC Orders Walmart, Uber, Delta to Disclose Data on Personalized Pricing
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is demanding nine major companies, including leading retail, travel, and gig economy firms, to provide information on how they use consumer data for setting individual prices and wages.
Google Launches Gemini 4 Carbon AI Model to Bolster Cybersecurity Capabilities
Alphabet's Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Carbon, its latest AI model specifically designed for advanced cybersecurity tasks like vulnerability detection and secure code generation. The launch escalates competition with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic in the enterprise AI market.
Oracle Shares Surge After Unveiling $225 Billion Revenue Target for 2030
Oracle stock rose sharply after the company presented a long-term financial outlook targeting at least $225 billion in annual revenue by fiscal 2030, driven by its expanding AI infrastructure business.
DOJ Scrutinizes Nvidia's $12.9B Hugging Face Deal Amid Broader Antitrust Probe, Sources Say
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly examining Nvidia's planned $12.93 billion acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face as part of a wider, ongoing antitrust investigation into the chipmaker's market conduct.