Alibaba AI chip push hits 100,000 mark, beating local rival Cambricon: sources

Alibaba Group Holding has delivered more than 100,000 units of its most advanced artificial intelligence chip, the Zhenwu 810E, whose performance is said to be comparable to Nvidia’s H20, according to people familiar with the matter – a milestone that highlights the company’s growing role in China’s race to build domestic alternatives to US processors.

The shipments, handled by Alibaba’s semiconductor arm T-Head, have already surpassed those of domestic rival Cambricon Technologies, the sources said, declining to be named because the information is not public. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

The Zhenwu 810E is a parallel processing unit – an application-specific integrated circuit designed for both AI training and inference – and represents Alibaba’s most advanced in-house AI chip to date.

Alibaba and Cambricon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The move underscores how Alibaba is carving out a larger share of China’s fast-growing AI chip market, as domestic players push to reduce reliance on Nvidia amid strong demand for AI computing power and ongoing uncertainty around US export controls.

The shipment update comes days after Bloomberg reported that Alibaba was preparing a potential listing of T-Head, as investor interest in China’s semiconductor sector gathers pace.

South China Morning Post