Alibaba's AI Chip Unit T-Head May Go Public Amid Growing Interest in AI Hardware

Alibaba's shares rose 6% as the company prepares for a potential IPO of its AI chip unit, T-Head. T-Head, founded in 2018, designs chips for computing and storage and plays a key role in Alibaba's cloud and data-center operations. Alibaba plans to restructure T-Head as a separate business with partial employee ownership, a common step before an IPO. The move comes as Chinese companies seek alternatives to Nvidia products, which face export restrictions into China. Alibaba continues to invest heavily in AI and infrastructure, with a commitment of over $53 billion.