What's Going On With Alibaba Stock On Friday?

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA faces multiple challenges at the micro and macro levels.

The company is set to lose one of its top AI experts Zhou Chang, an algorithm engineer known for his work on the Tongyi Qianwen large language models (LLMs), as he prepares to leave.

The stock is trading lower on Friday. Zhou plans to establish his own AI venture, SCMP reports.

Zhou joined Alibaba in 2017. He played a crucial role in developing the Tongyi Qianwen LLMs and was part of the team behind the multimodal AI model M6, released in 2021, SCMP writes.

The departure follows the Chinese government mandating that domestic tech giants and AI startups, like ByteDance Ltd and Alibaba Group, undergo a government review of their AI models to ensure they adhere to socialist values.

Recent reports indicated the U.S. planned to impose additional advanced semiconductor technology sanctions on China shortly after the Asian country posted weak GDP growth in the second quarter.

The additional sanctions could hinder Alibaba Group’s AI ambitions, which are crucial to helping it unlock shareholder value.

Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group revenue grew by 3% year-on-year to $3.55 billion in the fourth quarter. The consolidated revenue increased by 7% year-on-year to $30.73 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $30.40 billion. 

Price Actions: BABA shares traded lower by 0.95% at $75.81 premarket at the last check on Friday.

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