Alibaba announces super-powered AI chip

Alibaba has unveiled its first self-developed artificial intelligence chip, boosting China’s drive towards home-grown AI solutions and superior cloud infrastructure services

The neural processing unit (NPU), named Hanguang 800, can supercharge computing tasks, cutting processing times down from one hour to just five minutes.

The Chinese e-commerce giant is already using it within the business, powering product searches, personalised recommendations, automatic translations and “intelligent customer services.”

In a press release, Alibaba CTO Jeff Zhang said: “The launch of Hanguang 800 is an important step in our pursuit of next-generation technologies, boosting computing capabilities that will drive both our current and emerging businesses while improving energy-efficiency.”


NVIDIA


The chip was developed by a research institute launched in 2017, DAMO Academy, who work alongside Alibaba’s own semiconductor division, T-Head. The company’s self-reliance is growing, as it looks to move away from foreign, dominant computing architectures, which often carry licensing fees in order to use.

China’s technology industry as a whole looks inward for solutions in a country-wide push to cut reliance on foreign imports. This move by Alibaba signals a streamlining of the supply chain, ensuring that the ongoing trade war with the USA will not dent or diminish China’s progress towards its Made in China 2025 roadmap.

The initiative, announced in 2015, aims at making the nation a manufacturing superpower and is filled with plans and policies for innovation-driven development.

Alibaba has made no plans to release Hanguang 800 to the consumer market.

Luke Conrad

Technology & Marketing Enthusiast

Is It Time for a VMware Alternative?

Wind River • 22nd May 2025

Companies have options when it comes to replacing VMware as their cloud platform, to address rising costs, support concerns, and a shrinking partner ecosystem. If you are ready to contemplate a different vendor, here are five reasons why Wind River Cloud Platform should be on your short list of VMware alternatives.

AI Leads as VivaTech Unveils Top 100 Startups

Viva Technology • 14th May 2025

Viva Technology has unveiled the first edition of its “Top 100 Rising European Startups for 2025,” spotlighting the most promising young companies shaping Europe’s tech future. Germany, France, and the UK lead the ranking, which highlights high-growth startups across 13 countries. Artificial intelligence dominates the list, with 15 companies spanning AI agents, models, and infrastructure....

Birmingham Unveils the UK’s Best Emerging HealthTech Advances

Kosta Mavroulakis • 03rd April 2025

The National HealthTech Series hosted its latest event in Birmingham this month, showcasing innovative startups driving advanced health technology, including AI-assisted diagnostics, wearable devices and revolutionary educational tools for healthcare professionals. Health stakeholders drawn from the NHS, universities, industry and front-line patient care met with new and emerging businesses to define the future trajectory of...

Why DEIB is Imperative to Tech’s Future

Hadas Almog from AppsFlyer • 17th March 2025

We’ve been seeing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives being cut time and time again throughout the tech industry. DEIB dedicated roles have been eliminated, employee resource groups have lost funding, and initiatives once considered crucial have been deprioritised in favour of “more immediate business needs.” The justification for these cuts is often the...

The need to eradicate platform dependence

Sue Azari • 10th March 2025

The advertising industry is undergoing a seismic shift. Connected TV (CTV), Retail Media Networks (RMNs), and omnichannel strategies are rapidly redefining how brands engage with consumers. As digital privacy regulations evolve and platform dynamics shift, advertisers must recognise a fundamental truth. You cannot build a sustainable business on borrowed ground. The recent uncertainty surrounding TikTok...

The need to clean data for effective insight

David Sheldrake • 05th March 2025

There is more data today than ever before. In fact, the total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally has now reached an incredible 149 zettabytes. The growth of the big mountain is not expected to slow down, either, with it expected to reach almost 400 zettabytes within the next three years. Whilst...