Alibaba to spin off chip unit T-head in Hong Kong listing

The company initially filed confidentially with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 11th. Details regarding the timing and size of the offering have not been disclosed.

Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares experienced a slight decrease, trading 1% lower Wednesday morning, reflecting a year-to-date decline of roughly 29%.

In September, Alibaba unveiled its Zhenwu V900 AI chip, claiming it offers three times the performance of the Zhenwu M890, which was released in May. This development aligns with a broader trend of Chinese companies, including Huawei, striving to develop domestic semiconductor capabilities to support artificial intelligence initiatives, particularly in light of U.S. restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips.

Earlier this year, Culper Research accused Alibaba of indirectly financing entities in Southeast Asia to acquire restricted Nvidia chips. Alibaba did not respond to the allegations.

The recent controversy surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, involving an alleged affair with a Chinese spy linked to one of those entities, has negatively impacted Nvidia’s stock valuation, reaching its lowest point since late March.

In related news, AI firm Anthropic plans to offer 825 million shares in its IPO, priced between $70 and $78 per share, with Nasdaq trading expected to commence on November 19th, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Chinese tech stocks have generally lagged behind their U.S. counterparts, despite previous enthusiasm surrounding AI advancements from companies like DeepSeek. Other Chinese companies, including Baidu (delaying the listing of its Kunlunxin AI chip entity) and YMTC (a memory chip manufacturer), have also reportedly postponed IPO plans. China’s financial regulators have recently intensified their oversight of tech IPOs and investments in the technology sector.