Alibaba reveals more powerful Zhenwu AI chip, new LLM

Alibaba Unveils New AI Chip Three Times More Powerful Than Predecessor

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce and technology giant, made waves on Wednesday with the announcement of its latest artificial intelligence chip, the Zhenwu M890. This new processor boasts three times the performance of its predecessor, the Zhenwu 810E, positioning Alibaba as a formidable player in China’s burgeoning domestic AI processor market.

With 144 GB of GPU memory and interchip bandwidth of 800 GB per second, the Zhenwu M890 has already been deployed to over 400 customers across 20 different industries. This development marks a significant milestone for Alibaba and its chip subsidiary T-Head, as they strive to compete with other major players in the Chinese AI hardware space, such as Huawei and Cambricon.

Analysts have noted that while Alibaba’s AI chips are gaining traction among Chinese customers, they still lag behind Western competitors in terms of memory capacity and bandwidth. Key metrics like compute performance have yet to be disclosed by Alibaba, leaving room for further advancements in the future.

The unveiling of the Zhenwu M890 comes at a time when Chinese AI developers face restrictions on purchasing cutting-edge processors from foreign companies like Nvidia, due to American export regulations. Beijing has also ramped up scrutiny on the use of foreign AI chips by domestic companies, pushing for greater reliance on homegrown technology.

Alibaba’s latest AI chip not only reflects progress in China’s AI chip development but also supports the computing needs of its Qwen large language models. Additionally, the company has announced the upcoming release of its next-generation AI model, Qwen3.7-Max, further solidifying its commitment to AI innovation.

In a strategic move to enhance its data capabilities, Alibaba recently partnered with China Telecom to launch a data center powered by its own chips in southern China. This initiative underscores Alibaba’s commitment to leveraging its proprietary technology to drive growth and innovation in the AI space.

As Alibaba continues to make strides in AI chip development, the company is poised to strengthen its position in the competitive Chinese market and drive advancements in AI technology. With the launch of the Zhenwu M890 and the upcoming release of Qwen3.7-Max, Alibaba is well-positioned to lead the charge in China’s rapidly evolving AI landscape.

This article was written based on information sourced from CNBC, with contributions from analyst Myron Xie and CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal.