Alibaba Launches Zhenwu M890 AI Chip Aiming to Replace U.S. Processors
Alibaba's Strategic Push for Domestic AI Chip Innovation
Introduction of the Zhenwu M890 AI Chip
BEIJING/SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group on Wednesday unveiled a new AI chip, the Zhenwu M890, as the Chinese technology giant intensifies efforts to build domestic alternatives to Nvidia processors amid tightening U.S. export curbs.
Performance and Capabilities of the Zhenwu M890
The chip, developed by Alibaba's semiconductor design subsidiary T-Head, delivers three times the performance of its predecessor, Zhenwu 810E. It is purpose-built for the emerging wave of AI "agents" — software systems that can carry out complex, multi-step tasks with limited human oversight.
Alibaba said the new processor is well-suited to handle the heavy memory and communication demands of agent workloads, where models must retain long stretches of context and coordinate with one another in real time.
Future Roadmap and Investment Plans
Upcoming Chip Releases
The company also outlined a multi-year chip roadmap, saying it would follow the M890 with a successor called the V900 in the third quarter of 2027, and a further chip, the J900, in the third quarter of 2028. The V900 is expected to deliver another roughly threefold performance gain over the M890, Alibaba said, signalling a sustained cadence of in-house silicon upgrades.
China's Broader AI Chip Strategy
National Efforts and Industry Trends
The plan underscores China's growing efforts to produce locally developed AI chips as Washington bans the sale of the most powerful U.S. processors to Chinese customers, and follows a similar announcement by Huawei last year.
Alibaba's Investment in AI Infrastructure
Hangzhou-based Alibaba last year pledged to spend more than 380 billion yuan ($53 billion) on cloud and AI infrastructure over three years, its largest-ever commitment to the sector.
The investment reflects a broader bet across China's technology industry that demand for AI computing power will continue to surge as enterprises adopt agent-based applications.
Product Launches and Market Availability
New Server System: Panjiu AL128
Alibaba unveiled the chip at its annual Alibaba Cloud Summit, alongside a new server system, the Panjiu AL128, which packages 128 of the accelerators into a single rack.
The system is available immediately to Chinese enterprise customers through Alibaba Cloud's domestic model platform, known as Bailian.
Adoption and Customer Base
T-Head said it has shipped more than 560,000 Zhenwu units to date, with over 400 external customers across 20 industries, including automakers and financial services firms, having deployed the chips.
Advancements in AI Models
Qwen 3.7-Max Language Model
Alibaba also announced Qwen 3.7-Max, the latest version of its flagship large language model, which it said is engineered for advanced coding and long-running agent tasks. The company said the model can operate continuously for up to 35 hours without performance degradation.
(Reporting by Liam Mo in Beijing and Miyoung Kim in Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed)
