Alibaba (BABA) Soars 6.98% on AI Protocol Support

On April 9, 2025, Alibaba's stock surged by 6.98% in pre-market trading, reflecting a strong bullish sentiment among investors.

Alibaba Cloud has launched a groundbreaking service that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a new open-source protocol designed to standardize interactions between AI models and external tools. This move is part of a broader trend in the AI industry, where MCP is emerging as a de facto standard for AI agent development. Alibaba's support for MCP is seen as a strategic move to enhance the openness and applicability of its AI models, particularly in light of its ambitious AI projects like Tongyi Qianwen.

Alibaba's initiative to support MCP is not an isolated effort. Other tech giants, including Tencent, have also expressed their support for the protocol. This collective endorsement from major players in the industry underscores the growing importance of MCP in the AI ecosystem. The protocol's ability to simplify development processes and enhance interoperability makes it a valuable tool for AI developers.

Alibaba's commitment to MCP is part of a broader strategy to leverage AI and cloud technologies to drive growth. The company's cloud division has seen significant revenue growth, with AI products posting triple-digit growth for six consecutive quarters. This trend is expected to continue as alibaba invests heavily in AI and cloud infrastructure, positioning itself as a leader in the global AI race.