Alibaba plans $10bn share sale to fund AI expansion

Alibaba, the Chinese tech giant, announced on Sunday plans to issue HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) in new shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to wire material. The company, headquartered in Hangzhou, has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence, with shareholders eagerly anticipating how it will capitalize on its substantial AI investments.

Alibaba's statement revealed that the Equity Placement aims to bolster the company's global AI leadership. The firm intends to employ the net proceeds from the share sale to bolster its "full stack AI capabilities," focusing on expanding and enhancing its AI infrastructure. Recently, Alibaba reported a revenue of nearly 269 billion yuan ($40 billion) in its latest quarter, marking a 9% year-on-year increase.

This surge in revenue can be attributed to the global enthusiasm for AI, driving demand for Alibaba's AI-driven products. The company is renowned for its open-source "Qwen" AI models, which have garnered widespread popularity among developers globally.