Alibaba Raises US$10.2 Billion for AI Infrastructure

Alibaba Group Holdings Limited announced a plan on August 23 to sell HK$80 billion (approximately US$10.2 billion) in shares on the Hong Kong exchange to fund artificial intelligence development. The company will use all net proceeds to invest in full-stack AI capabilities, including chips, infrastructure, and model deployment. The offering of 710 million ordinary shares at HK$112.70 each was oversubscribed and increased in size, though American investors are ineligible to participate.

CEO Eddie Wu justified the spending as a requirement to build the compute capacity needed for future growth, even as increased AI expenditures contributed to a 75 percent drop in quarterly net profit. The transaction marks the largest primary follow-on offering by a Hong Kong-listed company and the third-largest globally this year.

This move follows a broader trend in the region. Paul Chan, the financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, reported that AI-related initial public offerings raised nearly 100 billion HK dollars between December 2025 and May 2026. These funds accounted for roughly 55 percent of all IPO capital raised in Hong Kong during that period, contributing to economic growth in the first half of 2026 that exceeded original expectations.