Moore Threads’ flagship AI chip compatible with Alibaba models in tech self-reliance push

Semiconductor designer Moore Threads Technology has achieved full-stack compatibility between its flagship MTT S5000 graphics processing unit (GPU) and Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen3.5-series artificial intelligence models, as China’s tech self-reliance efforts gather pace.

Beijing-based Moore Threads, founded by former Nvidia executive James Zhang Jianzhong, on Thursday said the firm’s flagship AI chip was now compatible with the three new models under the latest Qwen series – Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, Qwen3.5-122B-A10B and Qwen3.5-27B.

Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud computing services unit of Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.

The announcement comes a day after Alibaba Cloud released its Qwen 3.5 medium model series, part of the Qwen 3.5 family unveiled earlier this month. The company had earlier touted how the series performed in certain benchmarks with leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind.

Moore Threads’ initiative reflects how Chinese chip developers are rushing to support the country’s top-performing AI models. These GPU designers – including MetaX Integrated Circuits, Biren Technology and Enflame – are in a heated race to fill the void left by Nvidia in the domestic market.

Nvidia does not know if and when its much-anticipated H200 chips would be allowed into China, the company said on Thursday.

That showed the ongoing regulatory uncertainty from Beijing regarding GPU imports, which Chinese “big tech” companies are keen to acquire for their AI development projects.