Alibaba AI chip push hits 100,000 mark, beating local rival Cambricon: sources
The milestone underscores Alibaba’s growing footprint in AI hardware, as Chinese firms accelerate efforts to build home-grown 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.