Alibaba Plans First Share Placement in Seven Years, Raising HK$80 Billion for AI Infrastructure

Alibaba announced its first placement of new shares since its Hong Kong listing in 2019, raising HK$80 billion, with all proceeds earmarked for AI infrastructure construction. The fundraising follows a strong earnings report: AI-related products' ARR has reached RMB 49.5 billion, posting triple-digit growth for 12 consecutive quarters, with its share of cloud revenue rising to 35%. Management stated that AI computing power investments are expected to break even in about three years, which could shorten to two years as gross margins improve, with approximately half of the three-year RMB 380 billion investment plan already completed.