China's Most Advanced Chip May Soon Come From Alibaba

Skip to content

Uncategorized

China’s most advanced chip may soon come from Alibaba

Dashveenjit Kaur

October 21, 2021

Share this story:

Tags:

businesschinahardwaresecuritysemiconductortechnology

Categories::

Uncategorized

• As China tries to foster self-sufficiency in semiconductors, Alibaba unveiled a new server chip that’s based on advanced 5-nanometer technology.
• Alibaba’s new chip is designed for servers as the company aims to boost the competitiveness of its cloud computing business.

China’s chip dreams of self-sufficiency may be coming true sooner rather than later with an unlikely new player in the semiconductor industry.

The pandemic, if anything, has fueled a huge need for self-sufficiency, especially among technology giants that are often stuck in between the supply and demand conundrum. Joining the self-sufficiency league this time around is Chinese tech behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. 

The Chinese tech giant on Monday unveiled its new server chip, called Yitian 710, which will be used in new servers, named Panjiu, and is designed to further boost its cloud computing business. This would in turn allow Alibaba to compete against US cloud rivals like Amazon, Microsoft, and others. 

While the chip and servers will not be directly sold to customers,  Alibaba’s cloud computing clients can instead buy services based on these latest technologies. According to Alibaba, these servers are designed for artificial intelligence applications and storage, and they will be put to use in its own data centers in the “near future”.

See also: Alibaba overtakes IBM on global cloud leaderboard

Alibaba Cloud Intelligence’s President Jeff Zhang said in a press release, “Customizing our own server chips is consistent with our ongoing efforts toward boosting our computing capabilities with better performance and improved energy efficiency. We plan to use the chips to support current and future businesses across the Alibaba Group ecosystem.”

To top it off, Alibaba’s server chip is said to be one of the most advanced by a Chinese firm yet. However, the company will not be manufacturing, but designing the semiconductor instead, a trend seen amongst Chinese companies. For instance, Huawei designed its own smartphone chips and Baidu raised money this year for a standalone semiconductor business. 

According to Bloomberg, it is a part of a bigger trend among global rivals like Amazon and Google, who aim to gradually replace silicon from traditional chipmakers like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) with products custom-designed for their data centers and workloads.

Alibaba and China’s chip dreams

Semiconductors have been an area where China is hoping to bolster its domestic capabilities, given how the country’s industry still relies heavily on foreign technology. Therefore, Alibaba is among the Chinese firms that have answered Beijing’s call to invest in the development of cutting-edge technologies and manufacturing capacities.

For Alibaba, the Yitian 710 is not its first foray into custom-designed semiconductors. Back in 2019, Alibaba launched its first AI chip called Hanguang 800 followed by one used for internet-of-things. Now, the Yitian 710 chip is said to be based on architecture from British semiconductor firm Arm, using some of the latest manufacturing processes. 

Given China’s limited domestic chip manufacturing capabilities, Alibaba will have to outsource production and so far Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. are the only two companies capable of mass-producing 5-nm chips.

About the Author

Dashveenjit Kaur

Dashveenjit Kaur

Dashveen writes for Tech Wire Asia and TechHQ, providing research-based commentary on the exciting world of technology in business. Previously, she reported on the ground of Malaysia’s fast-paced political arena and stock market.

Related

LandSpace moves China’s space sector closer to the SpaceX model

December 29, 2025

Malaysia’s 5G blind spot: Indoor coverage and the coming Agentic AI surge

December 24, 2025

Why video game consoles are caught in the AI memory crunch

December 24, 2025

China’s power market shift lifts battery storage exports

December 22, 2025

Join our Community

Subscribe now to get all our premium content and latest tech news delivered straight to your inbox

Click here

Popular

China, South Korea, Taiwan

Global chip race: China semiconductor sector surpasses South Korea

34910 view(s)

Digital Transformation

Do you remember the first smartphones?

10741 view(s)

Uncategorized

Some Internet porn sites in China now accessible

9908 view(s)

AI & Intelligence, Software & Applications

GPT-5 now available to all users as OpenAI revisits open-source roots

6015 view(s) See all

Latest

View All Latest

China

December 22, 2025

China’s power market shift lifts battery storage exports

China

December 19, 2025

TikTok reaches agreement on Oracle-led US ownership plan

Malaysia

December 19, 2025

ASEAN Banks’ AI strategies: How DBS, Maybank, and CIMB stack up against JPMorgan’s US$18B bet Manage Consent To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Functional Functional Always active The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Preferences Preferences The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Statistics Statistics The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Marketing Marketing The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.

• Manage options
• Manage services
• Manage {vendor_count} vendors
• Read more about these purposes

Accept Deny View preferences Save preferences View preferences

• {title}
• {title}
• {title}

Manage consent

Subscribe

All our premium content and latest tech news delivered straight to your inbox

PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.First Name(Required)Last Name(Required)Job Title(Required)Company Name(Required)Email(Required) Company Size(Required)Company Size1-1011-200201-10001001-50005000+Company Sector(Required)Company SectorBiotechnology & PharmaceuticalsComputer Hardware & ElectronicsConsulting & Professional ServicesDefense & SecurityE-CommerceEducationEnergy, Chemicals & UtilitiesEngineering & ResearchEnvironmentalFinancial & Insurance ServicesGovernmentHealthcareIT ServicesManufacturingMedia & EntertainmentNot for ProfitReal Estate & ConstructionRetailSoftware & Cloud ServicesTechnologyTelecommunicationsTransportation, Shipping & LogisticsTravel & HospitalityWholesaleOtherCountry(Required)CountryUnited KingdomUnited StatesAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaCôte d'IvoireDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly SeeHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaRéunionSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwedenSwitzerlandSyria Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, the United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluTürkiyeUS Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweÅland IslandsPermissions(Required) By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice