China's Alibaba Develops a Domestic AI Chip Amid Tensions and U.S. Restrictions
China’s tech giant Alibaba has created a new, more versatile AI chip designed to handle a broader range of inference tasks, signalling a strategic move toward self-reliance in high-performance computing. Unlike its previous processor, which was manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), this latest chip is produced domestically. This development comes as the U.S. recently eased some restrictions on Nvidia chip sales in China, though those chips still lag behind Nvidia’s Blackwell and H100 processors in terms of raw computing power. Alibaba, which has seen strong demand propelling a 26% leap in its cloud-segment revenue in the April–June quarter, is accelerating efforts to reduce dependence on U.S. technology amid mounting regulatory pressures.
