HONG KONG— Investors are betting big on Alibaba’s AI ambitions. Shares of the Chinese tech giant surged over 7pc in Hong Kong trading Thursday after the company unveiled QwQ-32B, an artificial intelligence model it claims can rival DeepSeek—the surprise breakout AI star of the year.
Alibaba’s Big AI Play
China’s AI race just got more competitive. Alibaba’s QwQ-32B, announced Thursday morning, is designed to match DeepSeek’s performance while running on significantly less data.
This efficiency could be a game-changer in an industry where computational power—and cost—have been major hurdles.
The market reaction was swift. By midday, Alibaba’s stock had climbed over 7pc, reflecting growing investor confidence in China’s AI capabilities.
Alibaba shares jumped 7% after it unveiled QwQ-32B, which it claims is an AI model that performs as well as DeepSeek but uses far less data
The surge aligns with a broader rebound in the Chinese tech sector, which has been regaining momentum after a rocky regulatory period.
Jack Ma’s Return and Renewed Investor Confidence
Alibaba’s resurgence isn’t just about AI. Last month, co-founder Jack Ma made a rare public appearance alongside President Xi Jinping at a high-profile business symposium.
The meeting signaled a potential thawing of relations between China’s regulators and the country’s once-embattled tech giants.
It’s a stark contrast to Ma’s previous run-in with Beijing in 2020, when his criticism of government regulations led to the abrupt cancellation of Alibaba’s record-breaking IPO.
The regulatory crackdown that followed erased over a trillion dollars from the value of China’s biggest tech firms.
Now, with Ma seemingly back in the fold, the market is watching closely for signs of a more business-friendly environment.
#Alibaba shares surged over 8% in Hong Kong after the launch of the tech giant’s new AI model, QwQ-32B, which it claims can compete with #DeepSeek. #forbes For more details: 🔗 on.forbesmiddleeast.com/650b95
China’s AI Boom and Alibaba’s $50 Billion Bet
DeepSeek’s emergence earlier this year as a cost-efficient alternative to Western AI models has already stirred excitement among investors and policymakers.
Now, with Alibaba’s QwQ-32B and Tencent’s recently launched Yuanbao, China’s homegrown AI landscape is heating up.
Adding fuel to the fire, Beijing announced Wednesday that it would boost support for domestic consumption—welcome news for Alibaba, whose e-commerce platforms are central to China’s digital economy.
Alibaba shares surge after it unveils reasoning model reut.rs/4ktJAgF
Alibaba recently revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in AI and cloud computing over the next three years, a move that underscores its commitment to staying ahead in the AI race.
With regulatory tides shifting and China doubling down on AI, Alibaba’s latest developments could mark the beginning of a new growth era.
If QwQ-32B lives up to its promise, the company may soon be a major force in the global AI landscape. For now, investors seem to think so.
