Alibaba shares surge as Alipay debuts AI merchant platform

Alibaba Group Holding ↗ 2.76% shares surged as much as 5% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, their strongest gain in two weeks, after Alipay unveiled a full-stack agentic AI commerce platform for merchants across China. The rally comes ahead of the company's June quarter earnings release, scheduled for Thursday.

The platform, announced at Alipay's AI Ecosystem Partner Conference in Hangzhou on Tuesday, equips businesses with AI-driven tools to convert traditional digital operations into what Alipay calls "agent-ready skills." At its center is Ah Bao, the AI super service agent Alipay debuted in June, which enables consumers to interact with over 10,000 AI-enhanced services using conversational language — from paying utility bills to ordering coffee.blockonomi+1

A Bid to Dominate Agentic Commerce

Alipay positions the platform as China's first comprehensive agentic commerce solution. Major brands including KFC, Luckin Coffee and Mixue Bingcheng have already integrated with Ah Bao, allowing customers to complete orders and process payments through conversation alone.blockonomi

Ah Bao maintains connections with five leading smartphone manufacturers collectively holding over 70% of market share, alongside 16 automotive manufacturers. The system uses Alipay's AHA protocol to enable merchant services across smartphones, vehicles, AI-enabled eyewear and other connected devices.theedgemalaysia+1

"Agentic commerce is poised for rapid growth over the next 6 to 12 months," Ant Group CEO Cyril Han said in a statement.blockonomi+1

Earnings Week and Investor Rotation

Alibaba shares have now rallied more than 40% from a low in June, rebounding from a sell-off earlier this year, according to Bloomberg. The tech giant is expected to report revenue growth of 8.4% for the three months ended June, while free cash flow is set to remain negative due to AI investments, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts.bloomberg+1

Funds have been rotating toward Alibaba and away from Tencent Holdings after the latter released sluggish earnings last week, said Steven Leung, an executive director at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. Alibaba is perceived as having "more visible growth thanks to its cloud services," Leung told Bloomberg.theedgemalaysia

To accelerate developer adoption, Alipay introduced an AI Business Incentive Program offering 100 million complimentary tokens per participant, transaction subsidies and discounted payment processing fees. The company's network currently links over one billion consumers with more than 80 million merchants throughout China.blockonomi