Nvidia hardware powers AI as Google gets strong buy rating

Key Takeaways

• Alibaba is preparing an IPO for its AI chipmaking unit, T-Head, to capitalize on investor interest in AI accelerators and reduce reliance on external suppliers.
• Raymond James upgraded Alphabet (Google) stock to "strong buy," raising its price target to $400, citing significant AI-driven growth in Search and Cloud.
• Intel reported a 4% decline in Q4 revenue, with its largest business unit seeing a 7% drop, leading to a 6.6% fall in stock price.
• Yelp is acquiring the AI-powered customer communication platform Hatch for $300 million, consisting of $270 million in cash and $30 million for employee retention.
• Society Pass Incorporated invested $8.8 million in Sapience AI Inc., a Slovakian AI data center startup planning to build a GPU cloud using Nvidia hardware.
• Venture capital firms invested $6.6 billion in AI climate technology last year, driven by deals in mining and data centers, despite an overall decline in climate tech deals.
• JPMorgan updated its top AI stock picks to include Nvidia, Broadcom, and Micron, projecting a 50% annual growth rate for the AI accelerator market, reaching over $200 billion in 2025.
• Most AI investors (93%) plan to either buy or hold AI stocks, even though 41% believe there is a speculative bubble in the market.
• CyberNut secured new funding to expand its AI security solutions for K-12 schools, serving over 1.4 million students and 400,000 faculty members.
• Fujifilm Holdings offers diverse AI investment opportunities through its chips, software, healthcare, and materials segments, including components for next-gen AI hardware.

Alibaba Prepares T-Head AI Chip Unit for IPO

Alibaba is getting ready to list its chipmaking unit, T-Head, on the stock market. This news caused Alibaba's shares to rise by 3.8% in pre-market trading. The company plans to first make T-Head a standalone business with some employee ownership. This move aims to take advantage of high investor interest in AI accelerator companies, especially those challenging Nvidia. Alibaba has invested in chip design for years to support its cloud business and reduce reliance on outside suppliers.

Alibaba Reportedly Plans IPO for T-Head AI Chip Unit

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is reportedly getting ready to list its chipmaking division, T-Head. Bloomberg News shared this information, citing people familiar with the plans. As a first step, Alibaba intends to restructure T-Head into a business partly owned by its employees. The company will then explore an initial public offering, though the exact timing is not yet clear.

Alibaba Considers IPO for T-Head AI Chip Unit

Alibaba is reportedly planning an initial public offering for its AI chipmaking unit, T-Head. First, Alibaba will restructure T-Head to be partly owned by its employees. This news caused Alibaba's American depositary receipts to rise more than 5% in pre-market trading. Alibaba founded T-Head in September 2018 to design chips for its data centers and cloud services, aiming to become a leading AI company and reduce reliance on external suppliers. The timing and valuation for the IPO are still uncertain.

Raymond James Upgrades Alphabet Stock to Strong Buy

Raymond James upgraded Alphabet's stock to a "strong buy" from "outperform." Analyst Josh Beck also raised the price target to $400, suggesting a 22% increase from Wednesday's closing price. Beck believes Alphabet's investments in artificial intelligence will drive significant growth, especially in Google Search and Cloud. He revised his 2026 and 2027 revenue estimates upwards, now holding the highest forecast for 2027 revenue on Wall Street. This upgrade reflects a belief that Alphabet is entering a period of strong AI-driven revenue acceleration.

Google Stock Upgraded on Strong AI Cloud Outlook

Google's parent company, Alphabet (GOOGL), received an upgrade to "strong buy" from "outperform." This upgrade comes from a Raymond James analyst who expects artificial intelligence-related growth to significantly boost Google's cloud computing results in 2026. The positive outlook is shared ahead of Alphabet's fourth-quarter earnings report, which is scheduled for February 4. The analyst believes Google is starting a period of improved AI performance and higher earnings estimates.

Fujifilm Offers Diverse AI Investment Opportunities

FUJIFILM Holdings provides a unique way for investors to get involved in the growing AI market. The company has a diversified business model with exposure to AI through its chips, software, and healthcare segments. Fujifilm's healthcare division uses AI for advanced medical diagnostics and treatments. Its materials segment develops components for semiconductors and next-generation AI hardware. The business solutions and imaging segments also integrate AI for improved processes and applications like computer vision. This broad approach, combined with stable earnings, makes Fujifilm an attractive long-term investment.

Intel Sales Decline Despite AI Market Growth

Intel reported that its fourth-quarter revenue dropped by 4%, even though the company had projected this outcome. Its largest business unit, which sells CPUs for personal computers and other consumer products, saw a 7% decline. Following this news, Intel's stock fell by 6.6% in after-hours trading. While some areas showed a 9% growth, the overall sales slump continued for the chip firm.

Yelp Acquires AI Platform Hatch for 300 Million Dollars

Yelp is buying Hatch, an AI-powered platform that helps businesses manage customer communications, for 300 million dollars. The deal includes 270 million dollars in cash and 30 million dollars for employee retention over two to three years. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman stated this acquisition will speed up Yelp's AI transformation and bring powerful new tools to local businesses. Hatch, founded in 2018, uses conversational AI agents for SMS, email, and phone calls to improve customer retention. This move aligns with a growing trend of businesses adopting agentic AI, as shown by recent research.

CyberNut Raises Funds for K-12 AI Security Expansion

CyberNut has secured new funding, led by Growth Street Partners, to expand its AI security solutions for K-12 schools. The company offers tools that combine AI automation, phishing simulations, and training specifically for teachers, staff, and students. This platform helps users identify and respond to cyber threats like phishing and deepfake scams by focusing on human behavior. CyberNut plans to use the investment to improve its platform and reach more school districts nationwide. Currently, over 400,000 faculty members and 1.4 million students use CyberNut's services.

AI Investors Confident Despite Bubble Warnings

A new survey reveals that most AI investors are confident in their holdings despite warnings of a speculative bubble. About 57% of investors plan to keep their current AI stock investments, and another 36% intend to buy even more. This means 93% of investors plan to either buy or hold AI stocks. However, 41% of those surveyed believe there is a speculative bubble, while only 26% think current prices are sustainable. Experts suggest investors should be selective with their choices, like investing in strong companies such as Alphabet, and avoid putting all their money in at once.

Society Pass Invests 8.8 Million in AI Startup

Society Pass Incorporated invested 8.8 million dollars in Sapience AI Inc., an emerging AI data center startup. This move allows Society Pass to enter the rapidly growing global AI market, which is expected to reach 2.4 trillion dollars by 2032. Sapience AI, based in Slovakia, partners with Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers known for Nvidia chips to build a next-generation GPU cloud. It will start as a GPU-as-a-Service provider, using Nvidia hardware in European data centers for high-performance computing tasks like machine learning. Both companies aim to meet the surging demand for AI compute in Europe.

Venture Capital Pours Into AI Climate Tech

Venture capital firms are rapidly investing in climate technology, but primarily when it involves artificial intelligence. AI climate tech saw 6.6 billion dollars in investments last year, largely due to major deals in mining and data centers. Experts note that AI is becoming a key tool within the climate technology sector. This record year for AI-involved climate tech is significant, especially as the overall number of climate tech deals has fallen to a four-year low. The demand for power in data centers was a major factor driving these investments in the second half of the year.

JPMorgan Updates Top AI Stock Picks

JPMorgan has updated its list of recommended AI stocks to buy before the upcoming earnings season. The firm's top picks include Nvidia, Broadcom, and Micron, focusing on core AI infrastructure companies and some smaller firms. JPMorgan expects strong demand for AI to continue, believing the chip rally still has momentum. Analysts anticipate positive earnings results and outlooks for the first quarter and the full year 2026. They project an impressive 50% annual growth rate for the AI accelerator market, with over 200 billion dollars in spending in 2025.

Sources

• Alibaba shares surge after report co prepares IPO of AI chip unit as demand surges By Investing.com
• Alibaba to plan IPO for AI chipmaking unit T-Head, Bloomberg News reports
• Alibaba Is Said to Plan IPO for AI Chipmaking Unit T-Head
• Raymond James upgrades this ‘Magnificent Seven’ titan as AI-driven growth accelerates
• Google Stock Upgraded On Rosy Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing Outlook
• Fujifilm: Diversified Exposure To AI Through Chips, Software, And Healthcare
• Intel’s Sales Slump Persists Despite AI Growth
• Yelp Purchasing AI Lead Management Platform Hatch for $300 Million
• CyberNut raises funding to expand AI security for K-12
• Exclusive Survey: What AI Investors Really Think About Bubble Warnings
• Society Pass puts $8.8M into startup targeting $371B AI market
• Venture Capital Is Rushing to Invest in Climate Tech, but on 1 Condition
• JPMorgan revamps AI ‘stocks to buy’ list ahead of earnings