Alibaba Launches Zhenwu M890 AI Chip Amid US Export Controls

Alibaba has unveiled its latest AI chip, the Zhenwu M890, which the company's semiconductor arm T-Head claims triples the performance of the previous Zhenwu 810E. This announcement was made during the Alibaba Cloud Summit in Hangzhou and marks a significant step in Alibaba's efforts to bolster its AI infrastructure.

The Zhenwu M890 is designed for training and operating advanced AI agents, referred to as “agentic AI.” With the ongoing US export controls limiting access to Nvidia's advanced processors, Alibaba is focusing on developing its own silicon as a reliable alternative.

Specifications and Capabilities

• The Zhenwu M890 features 144 GB of on-chip memory.
• It delivers an impressive 800 GB/s of inter-chip bandwidth.
• The chip is already integrated into Alibaba's new Panjiu AL128 supernode server.
• It can be clustered with up to 64 accelerators for enhanced performance.

T-Head has a proven track record, having shipped over 560,000 Zhenwu series chips to more than 400 clients, including major players like China Telecom and FAW Group. Approximately 60% of T-Head’s production capacity is now dedicated to external customers.

Future Developments

Looking ahead, Alibaba plans to launch the Zhenwu V900 chip in Q3 2027, which is expected to be three times more powerful than the M890. This ambitious roadmap reflects Alibaba's commitment to advancing its AI capabilities and reducing supply-chain vulnerabilities.

The growing demand for Chinese-made AI silicon suggests a developing ecosystem that could reshape the AI hardware landscape. The success of Alibaba's upcoming V900 will be a critical milestone to watch.