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Signage at the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. headquarters in Hangzhou, China, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Alibaba‘s Hong Kong listed shares surged more than 19% on Monday as the Chinese tech giant’s cloud computing unit drove strong quarterly results, while details emerged over its new AI chip development.

It’s the highest level for the stock since March. Investors have backed the company’s improving performance in its key cloud unit and are content with the the tech giant’s investment into new areas — particularly in the so-called “instant commerce,” which has become incredibly competitive in China.

The Hong Kong rally builds on the momentum of Alibaba‘s earnings report of Friday, when the company’s New York-listed shares closed nearly 13% higher.

Alibaba last week week posted revenue for the June quarter of 247.65 billion Chinese yuan ($34.73 billion), marking a 2% year-on-year rise that nevertheless missed analyst expectations. On the upside, a 78% annual surge in net income came in ahead of forecasts.

The Chinese company’s cloud computing unit was a bright spot with revenue picking up by an annual 26%, which was a faster growth rate than seen in the previous quarter. Alibaba’s cloud growth has been accelerating over the last few quarter.

Like some of its Chinese and U.S. tech rivals, Alibaba has been investing in AI infrastructure and developing its own models, as well as selling AI services for its cloud computing unit. Investors see the division as key to the company’s efforts to monetize artificial intelligence, much like Microsoft or Google.

AI-related product revenue “maintained triple-digit year-over-year growth for the eighth consecutive quarter,” the company said Friday.

That same day, CNBC reported that Alibaba is developing a new AI chip, which also supported the share price rally on Monday.

Alibaba’s core e-commerce business has meanwhile been showing signs of revival, while the company has jumped into China’s cut-throat instant commerce space in China. This is a feature introduced this year on Taobao, one of Alibaba’s main Chinese e-commerce apps, which provides deliveries of certain products in China within an hour.

Investments in quick commerce weighed on Alibaba’s adjusted earnings for its e-commerce business. Investors have given the company some leeway to invest for now.

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Huawei launches second trifold smartphone at $2,500 as it looks to cement comeback

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Huawei launches second trifold smartphone at ,500 as it looks to cement comeback

Huawei launched its second generation trifold phone called the Mate XTs on September 4, 2025.

Huawei

Huawei on Thursday launched the second generation of its trifold smartphone, as the Chinese tech giant looks to cement its comeback in its home market and dip its toe back overseas.

The Shenzhen-headquartered tech firm took the wraps off of the Huawei Mate XTs, which starts at 17,999 Chinese yuan ($2,520) and goes up to 21,999 yuan for the model with the largest memory.

Foldable smartphones typically have one hinge that allows a user to fold the device in half. Huawei’s Mate XTs is dubbed a trifold — meaning it has two hinges that allow it to be folded at two points. The phone turns into a tablet-like device when opened up.

Huawei pioneered the concept last year when it launched the Mate XT, which was the first device of its kind. The product initially debuted in China, before hitting select overseas markets earlier this year.

The company will be hoping the Mate XTs will help it sustain the momentum it has rekindled in the Chinese smartphone market since late 2023.

Huawei’s market share in China jumped to 18% in the second quarter versus 15% in the same period last year, and the company is now the biggest smartphone vendor in China, Counterpoint Research data showed. In the Chinese foldable phone category, Huawei dominates with a 75% share of the market, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Huawei sold 470,000 units of the Mate XT device since launch to the end of the second quarter of this year, generating over $1.3 billion of revenue, IDC added.

“The performance is quite strong considering it’s one of the most expensive smartphones available and this shows there is a demand for something innovative,” Francisco Jeronimo, a vice president covering devices at IDC, told CNBC.

Huawei is looking to show it can still innovate, after its smartphone business was crippled in 2020 by U.S. sanctions that cut the company off from key software and chips. Since then, Huawei has developed its own operating system and managed to get some less-advanced chips manufactured in China for its more recent devices, allowing it to make a comeback.

Still, Huawei’s market share remains tiny outside of China, as it faces a number of challenges.

Huawei Mate XTs details

Huawei’s Mate XTs will run HarmonyOS 5.1, the latest version of the company’s own operating system.

The company is positioning the handset as a productivity-focused device and will bring PC-grade apps that are optimized for the smartphone’s trifold screen.

Just as with a PC, users can stack, resize and move different windows around on the phone’s large screen.

The phone will come in four colors and pack a so-called 5600 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery, which is comparatively large relative to current devices on the market.

To entice buyers, Huawei is offering at least 50% off screen replacements, as well as two free appointments to service the phone at home or at a preferred location.

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Trump to host tech CEOs over dinner for inaugural event in renovated Rose Garden

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Trump to host tech CEOs over dinner for inaugural event in renovated Rose Garden

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to the Rose Garden of the White House to hold a signing ceremony for the Take it Down Act, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 19, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

U.S. President Trump will host two dozen high-profile tech and business leaders for an inaugural event in the White House’s renovated Rose Garden on Thursday. 

Invitees include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, according to a list confirmed by a White House official. 

The meeting is expected to be held over dinner after a separate White House event on artificial intelligence hosted by first lady Melania Trump.

The gathering underscores what has been a close but complicated relationship between Trump and the Big Tech sector in his second administration. 

Many of the aforementioned executives have sought friendlier ties with Trump, often appearing at events alongside the president to announce moves that align with the administration’s goals on emerging technologies and American reshoring. 

Invitees to the event also include other tech leaders, such as OpenAI president Greg Brockman; Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Sankar; and co-founder of Scale AI and head of a superintelligence team at Meta, Alexandr Wang.

CEOs such as Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Oracle‘s Safra Catz, and Micron Technology‘s David Limp have also been invited. 

Unsurprisingly, David Sacks, a venture capitalist serving as the White House’s crypto and AI czar, is expected to be at the event. Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4, is also expected to attend despite Trump withdrawing his nomination to run NASA in June.

Notably, Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who previously served as a special government employee in the first few months of the latest Trump administration and later had a public falling out with the president, was not on the invitation list.

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C3 AI reports declining revenue, announces new CEO to replace Siebel

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C3 AI reports declining revenue, announces new CEO to replace Siebel

The C3.ai logo is seen near a computer motherboard in this illustration taken on Jan. 8, 2024.

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Shares of the enterprise artificial intelligence company C3 AI fell 14% in extended trading on Wednesday after it announced fiscal first-quarter results and the appointment of Stephen Ehikian as its new CEO.

C3 AI reported $70.3 million in revenue for the quarter, down from $87.2 million during the same period last year. The company’s GAAP net loss widened to an 86-cent loss from a 50-cent loss a year ago.

Ehikian is a long-time tech executive who built two companies that were both acquired by Salesforce, C3 AI said. C3 AI said Ehikian assumed the new role on Sept. 1.

C3 AI kicked off a search for a new chief executive in July after its former CEO, Thomas Siebel revealed that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease earlier this year that resulted in “significant visual impairment.”

Read more CNBC tech news

“C3 AI is one of the most important companies in the AI landscape and enterprise software, with a platform and applications that are unmatched,” Ehikian said. “I am confident that we will be able to capture an increasing share of the immense market opportunity in Enterprise AI.”

The company has had a rocky few months since Siebel’s diagnosis.

Shares plunged in August after C3 AI announced disappointing preliminary financial results and a restructuring of its global sales and services organization.

Siebel said in an August statement that sales results during the quarter were “completely unacceptable.” He attributed the performance to the “disruptive effect” of the reorganization, as well as his ongoing health issues.

C3.ai shares plummet 14% after withdrawing previous guidance and new CEO announcement

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