Alibaba unveils AI chip to drive 20GW of data centres by 2032

Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled its most powerful AI chip, the Zhenwu V900, in a bid to compete with Nvidia and fuel a surge in data centre capacity across China. The ecommerce giant disclosed the new accelerator, which boasts triple the performance of its predecessor, during a presentation on Tuesday. CTO Eddie Wu announced a target of 20 gigawatts of data centre capacity for Alibaba Cloud by 2032, anticipating a surge in demand for AI.

Alibaba has allocated over US$53 billion to AI expansion over the next three years and secured US$10.2 billion from a recent share offering in Hong Kong. The company aims to develop a model with between 5 and 10 trillion parameters, a significant leap from current standards, to tackle more complex tasks. This strategic move aligns with Alibaba's focus on artificial general intelligence, as CEO Eddie Wu emphasizes the importance of AI for the company's future.

The announcement arrives on the eve of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with AI set to be a key topic of discussion among high-ranking officials from both nations.