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Alibaba and Baidu Turn to In-House Chips for AI Training Amid U.S. Restrictions

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Alibaba and Baidu have begun using their own internally designed chips to train AI models, partly replacing Nvidia’s processors, according to a report from The Information. The move signals a major shift in China’s AI development strategy, as U.S. export controls continue to restrict access to advanced American-made semiconductors.

Key Developments

  • Alibaba has used its homegrown chips since early 2025 to train smaller AI models.

  • Baidu is testing its Kunlun P800 chip to train new versions of its Ernie AI model.

  • Both companies still rely on Nvidia for their most advanced models but are working to reduce dependence.

Impact on Nvidia

Nvidia remains dominant in AI training hardware, but China accounts for a large share of its business. The firm’s most powerful U.S.-approved chip for China, the H20, lags behind the H100 and Blackwell series — but still outperforms most Chinese alternatives.

However, employees cited by The Information said Alibaba’s latest AI chip matches the performance of Nvidia’s H20, narrowing the gap between U.S. and Chinese hardware.

An Nvidia spokesperson responded: “The competition has undeniably arrived … We’ll continue to work to earn the trust and support of mainstream developers everywhere.”

Geopolitical Pressure

  • U.S. export restrictions have pushed Chinese companies to accelerate domestic chip design.

  • Beijing has urged firms to rely on home-grown semiconductor technology as part of its strategic autonomy push.

  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said talks with the White House over permission to sell a less advanced next-gen chip to China will take time.

According to the report, Nvidia has agreed to give the Trump administration 15% of China sales of its H20 chips in exchange for continued export licenses.

The Bigger Picture

China’s pivot toward domestic AI chips marks both a risk to Nvidia’s China revenues and a milestone for Chinese chipmakers, who are beginning to close the performance gap under intense geopolitical and economic pressure.

Oracle Stock Soars on AI Cloud Deals as Ellison Nears Musk in Wealth Rankings

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Oracle shares rocketed nearly 43% to a record high on Wednesday, putting the software giant within reach of the $1 trillion market cap club. The surge comes after Oracle unveiled four multi-billion-dollar contracts, positioning itself as a rising force in the global AI cloud race.

The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI has signed a staggering $300 billion contract with Oracle for computing power over five years — one of the largest cloud deals ever inked. Most of Oracle’s newly announced revenue gains stem from this partnership, analysts said.

The stock hit a high of $345.69, set for its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1992. If momentum holds, Oracle will add $234 billion in market value, bringing it to about $913 billion. Shares are already up 45% this year, outperforming the Magnificent Seven tech stocks and the broader S&P 500.

Ellison Closes in on Musk

The rally boosted co-founder Larry Ellison’s net worth by nearly $100 billion, to $392.6 billion, according to Forbes. Ellison, 81, is now within striking distance of Elon Musk, whose wealth stands at $439.9 billion.

AI Cloud Momentum

Oracle’s cloud business has seen explosive growth thanks to partnerships with Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, which now allow customers to run Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) alongside their native services. Revenue from these collaborations rose 16-fold in Q1.

CEO Safra Catz told investors: “Over the next few months, we expect to sign up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers, and RPO is likely to exceed half-a-trillion dollars.”

Oracle is also a participant in Stargate, the $500 billion AI infrastructure project backed by SoftBank and OpenAI, which analysts say could provide revenues well into the next decade.

Market Impact

The earnings also lifted semiconductor suppliers Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD, whose shares climbed 2–8% on expectations of higher demand for data center chips. Rival CoreWeave saw its stock jump about 15%.

With Oracle trading at 33.34x forward earnings, it now commands a valuation premium over Amazon (32.34x) and Microsoft (30.83x), underscoring how investors see its AI-driven growth story as one of the strongest in tech.

Perplexity Secures $200 Million at $20 Billion Valuation, Report Says

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AI startup Perplexity has finalized commitments for $200 million in new funding, giving the company a valuation of $20 billion, according to The Information. The report, citing a source familiar with the matter, has not been independently confirmed by Reuters, and Perplexity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity has been rapidly positioning itself as a challenger in the AI space. The company, backed by Nvidia, has developed Comet, an AI-powered browser capable of performing tasks on behalf of users.

In August, Perplexity made headlines with a bold but unsuccessful $34.5 billion unsolicited cash bid for Alphabet’s Chrome browser — an offer nearly double its current valuation. If accepted, the deal would have given Perplexity access to Chrome’s three billion users worldwide, dramatically expanding its reach and strengthening its position against competitors such as OpenAI, which is also building an AI-first browser.

The new funding round signals strong investor confidence in Perplexity’s strategy, even as the company looks to scale up amid intensifying competition in AI-driven consumer technology.