Alibaba (09988) AI investment full record: heavily focused on core links in the AI industry chain, with floating profits exceeding five times in three years.

In the early morning of July 9th, Changxin Technology announced its intention to issue an IPO prospectus for the Science and Technology Innovation Board, with an expected issuance date of July 16th. Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (09988, BABA.US) has invested approximately 7.6 billion yuan in Changxin Technology, making it the industry investor with the highest shareholding percentage. Based on post-listing valuation forecasts, Alibaba's stake in Changxin is estimated to be worth around 130 billion yuan, with an expected total return multiple of 17 times after listing. Behind the investment in Changxin is a major adjustment in Alibaba's strategic logic for the past three years. The focus has shifted to AI, actively investing in chips, large models, embodied intelligence, and AI applications. The strategy is to invest early, invest small, and invest in frontier technologies while promoting mutually beneficial relationships rather than controlling investments. This adjustment has already yielded substantial returns. According to incomplete statistics, Alibaba has invested approximately 36 billion yuan in external AI investments in the past three years, with current floating profits exceeding 210 billion yuan. From the industry and invested companies' perspectives, Alibaba's investments have become an important source of vitality for the AI industry. In chip investments, Alibaba has made two significant investments in DRAM memory and server interconnectivity. Alibaba initially invested in Changxin Technology in December 2021 and subsequently increased its stake to approximately 5% before the IPO in June 2025. Alibaba has invested around 7.6 billion yuan in Changxin, and based on post-listing valuation forecasts, the expected total return multiple could reach 17 times. It is worth noting that at the end of 2021, the storage industry was still in a period of declining prices, and the AI-driven storage boom was yet to emerge. There are differing opinions within the market and industry about the development pace of domestic DRAM. Alibaba's decision to invest at this time was not a short-term cyclical bet but a strategic judgment on the value and long-term industry landscape of domestic storage. Montage Technology (06809) is another piece of the puzzle in Alibaba's chip industry chain layout. Montage Technology's products cover memory interfaces, PCIe/CXL Retimer, high-speed AI interconnectivity for servers, etc. It debuted in Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February 2026, and Alibaba subscribed to approximately 500 million yuan, making it the third-largest cornerstone investor. This investment further strengthens Alibaba's industrial synergy in the field of computing power. As of now, based on the secondary market stock prices, the floating profit is more than tripled. In addition, Alibaba has also invested in chip companies such as Aojet Technology (688220.SH), Xizhi Technology (01879), Hanbo Semiconductor, and AI infrastructure companies such as silicon-based mobility. Aojet Technology has listed on the A-share market, Xizhi Technology has listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Hanbo Semiconductor has reported A-share guidance, and silicon-based mobility has submitted a Hong Kong IPO application. Alibaba is expected to harvest more listed companies in this field. In the field of large models, Alibaba's investment strategy covers the entire industry from 0 to 1. In November 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT. In 2023, domestic large models began to take off. Due to the unconverged technical routes, unclear landing scenarios, and commercialization paths, there were significant divergences in the long-term value of these models. In this context, Alibaba entered the market early and made full coverage investments in leading companies such as KNOWLEDGE ATLAS, MiniMax, and the Dark Side of the Moon (Kimi). Alibaba entered KNOWLEDGE ATLAS in 2023, and on January 8, 2026, KNOWLEDGE ATLAS landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the "world's first large model stock." Its stock price has been rising. Based on the latest market prices, Alibaba's investment returns from this venture are around 14 billion yuan, with a return multiple of about 70 times. Just a day after KNOWLEDGE ATLAS, on January 9, 2026, MiniMax also went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Alibaba made two investments into MiniMax in 2024 and 2026, with a total investment of 29 billion yuan, and at the current stock price, the return is approximately 18 billion yuan. The Dark Side of the Moon has not yet gone public. Alibaba has been involved in the entire process of the Dark Side of the Moon's entrepreneurship from 2023 to 2026, with a total of seven investments exceeding 8 billion yuan. Based on the latest market valuations, the return multiple is over 6 times, with returns exceeding 40 billion yuan. In the field of multimodal models, Alibaba has maintained the same principle of full coverage of leading companies. They have invested in companies such as Aishi Technology, Kelin, Shengshu Technology, VAST, covering the basic model layer, application layer, and key branches such as 3D generation. Since 2024, Alibaba has led three rounds of investment in Aishi Technology. Aishi Technology is a leading product for AI video applications going international from China. In March 2026, Aishi Technology completed a $300 million Series C financing, setting a record for single financing in the Asian AI video generation industry. In July, Alibaba also participated in the independent financing of Kelin AI, a star project of Kwai. Shengshu Technology focuses on the basic model and the world model in videos, with the core team coming from Tsinghua Zhu Jun Experiment Lab. They recently released a closed-loop world model to explore the landing of embodied intelligence in the physical world. Another company VAST is a leading player in the 3D generation direction, in which Alibaba also made an early investment. In terms of AI applications, Alibaba has made extensive investments in the AI application layer, following the chain of "chip model application." Compared to heavier investments in the first two layers, investments in this layer are smaller but more widespread, following the early VC approach with a focus on future value realization. Genspark, founded in Silicon Valley, is one of the earliest players to commercialize the Global General Agent track in the world. Alibaba has invested approximately 9 billion yuan and has a stake of around 13%, with floating profits exceeding 14 billion yuan. In addition, Alibaba has made multiple early investments in global open-source Agent work-flow development platform Dify, AI companion company Natural Selection, and overseas AIGC platform SeaArt, among others. Embodied intelligence is a field that Alibaba has significantly increased its investments in over the past two years. Starting from 2024, Alibaba has made investments in several top startup companies focused on hardware entities, dexterous operations, embodied brains, etc. Zijigongli is the earliest investment target in the embodied intelligence field for Alibaba. Established in 2022, the company focuses on the design and manufacture of humanoid hardware entities and the development of embodied brain models and Agentic OS. Alibaba invested in Zijigongli in 2024 and is its largest external shareholder. According to business information, Alibaba's shareholding ratio is 11.58%. Zijigongli is currently valued at nearly $2 billion, with Alibaba's investment yielding over 6 times. In the same year, Alibaba also invested in Stardust Epoch. Stardust Epoch, founded by Assistant Professor Chen Jianyu from Tsinghua University, has begun to deploy its general Siasun Robot & Automation entity and embodied brain capabilities in the logistics field. Additionally, Alibaba has also invested in humanoid and quadruped Siasun Robot & Automation company Yushu Technology. The company has registered for an IPO on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, aiming to become the first listed entity in the "A-share embodiment intelligence" field. In 2025, Alibaba significantly ramped up their investments in embodied intelligence. Sudo Technology was established in 2025 and led by renowned scholar Professor Su Hao. Alibaba made multiple early investments in Sudo Technology, with the company's valuation exceeding $2.5 billion according to reports. Another embodied intelligence company, Origin Spirit, was founded around the same time. It received exclusive investments worth hundreds of millions from Alibaba in Series A+, with Alibaba being the company's largest external investor. Origin Spirit is a representative company in China's embodied brain direction, and industry experts say its current valuation has surpassed tens of billions. In September of the same year, Alibaba led investment in the self-variable Siasun Robot & Automation company Sharpa, which recently partnered with 58 Tongcheng to launch its product capabilities in home service scenarios, with the latest post-investment valuation exceeding 20 billion yuan. Sharpa focuses on dexterous operations and in June of this year, NVIDIA Corporation CEO Jensen Huang showcased Sharpa's tactile dexterity capabilities in a speech, and announced the selection of Sharpa's dexterous hand system as NVIDIA Corporation's reference design for Siasun Robot & Automation worldwide. Alibaba has made consecutive investments in Sharpa in 2025 and 2026, becoming one of the company's major shareholders. Reports suggest that Sharpa's current valuation has exceeded 20 billion yuan. In the more cutting-edge field of brain-computer interfaces, Alibaba has also made investments. Ladder Medical is a leading company in the invasive brain-computer field, leading in the country to promote such products into clinical trials. Alibaba led the latest two rounds of financing for Ladder Medical. Investment logic: From "strong control" to "win-win" Alibaba's early investments were mainly focused on the core consumer business, aiming to build an ecosystem and preferences for verified business models that could form business synergies. Many of these investments involved acquiring controlling interests and deep integration within the ecosystem. In the past three years, Alibaba's investment logic has undergone a significant adjustment, moving away from strong control towards seeking win-win relationships. The investment direction has shifted significantly towards AI, with considerable weight placed on investing early, investing small, and investing in cutting-edge technologies to provide crucial R&D support to AI startups and help them overcome critical development stages. For the invested companies, Alibaba does not seek control through equity bindings but lets synergies develop naturally, aiming for mutual benefit. For example, large model companies and embodied intelligence companies have a strong demand for computing power, making them natural customers of Alibaba Cloud, China's largest AI cloud provider. In a context of scarce computing power, Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR can provide crucial infrastructure to AI startup companies. In 2025, Alibaba announced a three-year plan for over 380 billion yuan in AI infrastructure, supported by its strong position in the industry ecosystem. According to the latest market news, Alibaba Cloud's revenue growth rate is expected to reach 45% in the last quarter. Industry insiders revealed that the Dark Side of the Moon's spending on Alibaba Cloud surpassed $200 million in the first half of this year. Additionally, MiniMax's purchases of computing power amounted to approximately $58.4 million in the first three quarters of 2025, with Alibaba Cloud being its largest cloud service provider. Further information highlights that the annualized consumer spending of the aforementioned embodied intelligence companies in Alibaba Cloud has exceeded $100 million. At the same time, companies such as KNOWLEDGE ATLAS, the Dark Side of the Moon, and MiniMax provide model services via Alibaba Cloud's platform, expanding their reach to more customers. The value of major companies lies in breaking new ground and supporting emerging industries, reflecting Alibaba's strategic adjustments at the group level. In September 2023, Wu Yongming was appointed as Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR's CEO. As one of the earliest programmers and founding team members of Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR, Wu Yongming has a background in technology, business, and investment. After becoming CEO, Wu Yongming emphasized the two strategic focuses of "user first" and "AI-driven," with the former reflecting Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR's philosophy in the face of intense competition in the e-commerce main business and the latter running through Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR's various businesses, especially the technological segments anchored by Alibaba Cloud. In February 2025, Alibaba announced an investment of over 380 billion yuan to build AI and cloud computing infrastructure, surpassing the cumulative investment in the field by the company in the past decade. This high-pressure investment is backed by Alibaba's strong commitment to advancing AI, which, in turn, is supported by a strategic focus on concentrating resources where they matter most. From 2024, Alibaba began to divest holdings in businesses such as Yintai Commercial and SUNART RETAIL, gradually reducing its stakes in companies like Bilibili, YTO Express Group, Huatai, Beijing Enlight Media, among others, using these funds for AI investments. The change in investment direction has led to increased capital efficiency: with an initial investment of around 36 billion yuan, Alibaba has realized floating profits of around 210 billion yuan to date, with a significant portion of their holdings still in the Pre-IPO stage or earlier, indicating potential for further value appreciation. A noteworthy phenomenon is Alibaba's shift in investment logic from "strong control integration" to "symbiosis and win-win relationships" and the style of "early-stage, small-scale, cutting-edge" investments. These strategic changes have had a strong spillover effect on the industry, making Alibaba a major source of innovation for China's AI industry. Changxin and Lianqi have become the main force in domestic chip alternatives, while companies like KNOWLEDGE ATLAS, the Dark Side of the Moon, and MiniMax continue to show promising growth trajectories, with several invested embodied intelligence and AI application companies evolving into "unicorns." For Alibaba, the IPO of Changxin is just the first of a series of future harvests. For China's technology industry, the value of being a "major company" lies in identifying a position, building an ecosystem, and becoming a trailblazer and supporter for an emerging industry, backed by financial, computing power, and intellectual resources, making it a trend worth paying attention to. This article was originally published by "Wall Street News" and edited by GMTEight: Jiang Yuanhua.