TLDR
- Alibaba (BABA) stock closed down 6.8% at HK$93.80 in Hong Kong on Thursday.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang.
- Alibaba was a key client of Singapore-based Megaspeed, which has been linked to the controversy.
- U.S. lawmakers are demanding tighter chip export restrictions.
- MiniMax and Z.AI also fell in Hong Kong.
Alibaba (BABA) stock fell 6.8% in Hong Kong on Thursday, closing at HK$93.80. The drop came as turmoil at Nvidia (NVDA) rattled investors.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA
At its lowest, the stock was down as much as 7.3%. That is a steeper slide than the market saw overall.
The Hang Seng Tech index fell 2.4% on the day. Alibaba lost nearly three times as much.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang. The report points to an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at data company Megaspeed.
The WSJ said she is suspected of spying for China. Investors responded by worrying about the Chinese tech giant’s access to advanced chips.
Alibaba’s Link to Megaspeed
Alibaba was a key client of Singapore-based Megaspeed, the WSJ said. Megaspeed bought many Nvidia servers.
It placed many of those servers in data centers in Malaysia. From there, it supplied computing power to Alibaba.
Those are the same chips Chinese AI developers have leaned on. Alibaba is among the companies racing to build frontier models that can compete with Western rivals.
Advanced Nvidia chips have been critical to that effort. Losing easy access to them would hurt the race.
Washington is now talking about tougher curbs on the export of advanced chips. U.S. lawmakers are demanding tighter restrictions in the wake of the controversy.
Other Chinese AI Stocks Also Slide
Alibaba was not alone in Hong Kong on Thursday. Other Chinese AI stocks also fell.
MiniMax closed 7.8% lower. Z.AI dropped 9.05%.
Both fell by more than Alibaba’s 6.8%. Together, the three names painted a rough day for Chinese AI.
Washington is talking about tougher curbs on advanced chip exports, and Alibaba’s stock is already feeling it.
