Alibaba announced on August 23 that it plans to issue new shares to non-U.S. persons outside the United States, with a total amount of 80 billion Hong Kong dollars. The net proceeds will be used entirely to invest in full-stack AI capabilities and strengthen AI infrastructure construction. This is the first time since Alibaba's listing on the Hong Kong stock market in 2019 that the company has initiated a new share placement, and the transaction has been oversubscribed.
The financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, released on August 20, shows that as of June 30, Alibaba Group's revenue was 268.953 billion yuan, an increase of 9% year-over-year. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) from AI-related products has exceeded 49.5 billion yuan, and revenue from AI cloud and computing services reached 48.437 billion yuan, up 45% year-over-year. The company previously estimated that AI capital expenditures are expected to be recouped within three years, or even as short as 2.5 to 2 years. At the same time, Alibaba Cloud's external commercial revenue target for 2030 is 100 billion U.S. dollars, with profit margins expected to exceed 20%.
This financing comes at a time when global investment in AI infrastructure is continuously increasing. In June 2026, Alphabet raised 84.75 billion U.S. dollars through stock issuance for AI infrastructure; in August, Intel completed a 20 billion U.S. dollar common stock offering. Alibaba's decision to issue new shares at this time reflects its judgment on the long-term demand for AI computing power and investment returns, and also indicates that AI infrastructure is becoming a core area of capital investment for technology giants.
