Summary in Plain Language
This article discusses the recent wave of tech company listings in the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets over the past six months. Changxin Storage, which specializes in manufacturing memory chips, has set a new record for market value in the A-share market. Yushu Technology, a company focused on robotics, has become the “first stock in the humanoid robotics sector,” with a number of other star companies in the fields of AI, semiconductors, and robotics also going public. The large internet companies that invested in these hard-tech projects around five to six years ago, when the consumer internet industry was at its peak, have seen substantial gains on paper: the Alibaba group has a total floating profit of nearly 170 billion yuan, Tencent’s group has 52.4 billion yuan, and Meituan’s group has nearly 20 billion yuan. Many of these companies have earned more from their investments than from their main businesses in e-commerce, gaming, or food delivery. Essentially, this is not just luck; it’s the result of these companies positioning themselves in the emerging AI technology sector years in advance, and now it’s time to reap the rewards. In other words, those who missed the critical moment for investing in hard technology have missed out on the opportunity to enter the next era of the internet industry.
Detailed Explanation
1. How astonishing are the current investment returns of the large companies?
Many people thought that the income of internet companies came solely from their main businesses, but now it’s clear that investing has become their second source of profit, with returns growing at an incredible rate:
- Alibaba’s floating profit from equity investments in 2026 alone is over 56 billion yuan, more than tripling from 16.7 billion yuan in 2025.
- In the first half of 2026, Tencent’s investments alone generated nearly 10 billion yuan in paper gains, compared to just 1.3 billion yuan in the same period last year, a sevenfold increase.
- The most significant example is Meituan, which lost 300 million yuan on these hard-tech investments in the first half of 2025 but then saw a paper gain of 22.4 billion yuan in 2026, essentially earning over 20 billion yuan for free.
Why such sudden profits? The reason is that the valuations of these unlisted tech companies were initially estimated privately within the investment community and were often inflated. Now that these companies have gone public, ordinary investors are buying their stocks with real money, driving up their market values. It’s like buying early shares in a startup for a few yuan, which have now risen to dozens or even hundreds of yuan, multiplying the value significantly.
2. This “unexpected wealth” wasn’t a windfall; it was the result of seeds planted five to six years ago
Many think the large companies only started investing in these companies because of the AI trend, but in fact, the groundwork was laid in 2021, coinciding with two key turning points:
- The consumer internet industry reached its peak in 2021, and it became clear that there were no more new opportunities in e-commerce, food delivery, or short videos.
- At that time, Chinese company Changxin Storage made a breakthrough in core storage chip technology, marking the first time China could mass-produce such chips. This realization changed the perception of hard technology from a speculative concept to a viable business opportunity.
That year, five major companies—Tencent, Alibaba, and Meituan—invested a total of 63 times more in hard technology than in previous years. Even Alibaba, which was slower to act, saw its investment in hard technology increase from 8 projects to 33 projects in 2023 under its new leadership. They even sold off their shares in JD.com and Meituan to focus all their resources on AI.
The five-year wait from investing to the companies going public has paid off, resulting in billions in floating profits.
3. The large companies’ investments in hard technology are not random; they aim to control the entire AI ecosystem
Their investment strategy is clear: they’re not just betting on the success of individual companies but are trying to secure control over every key link in the AI ecosystem:
- They invested heavily in the most fundamental aspects of AI, such as memory and computing power. Companies like Changxin Storage, Zhongji Xuchuang (world-leading high-speed optical modules), and Lanqi Technology (memory chips) are all key players in this era.
- In the middle of the ecosystem, they spread their investments across various large models, ensuring a stake in whatever model becomes mainstream.
- For downstream applications, they target the most promising areas, such as autonomous driving and robotics.
Their approach is to be cautious but comprehensive, ensuring they don’t miss any crucial links in the AI chain. Missing out on any one link could be detrimental in the future.
4. Which of the three leading companies is the biggest winner in these investments?
The investment styles and returns of the three companies differ significantly:
- Alibaba’s strategy is focused on a few big hits: its total floating profit of 168.7 billion yuan includes a 156.5-billion-yuan gain from its investment in Changxin Storage, with a return rate of over 20 times.
- Tencent’s strategy is to invest broadly, covering all aspects of the AI ecosystem, ensuring a steady stream of profits from various popular sectors.
- Meituan’s strategy is to invest early in less well-known companies, often at a lower valuation, resulting in higher returns (4 times and 43 times, respectively).
There’s no fierce competition among the companies for projects; instead, they collaborate, providing each other with resources (e.g., connecting robotics companies with offline services and large models with traffic) to help the companies grow.
5. The billions in floating profits are just the beginning; they’re buying a ticket to shape the next era
Many think the companies will cash in their profits, but over 90% of these gains are paper wealth that won’t be realized immediately. The real goal is for these tech companies to enhance their main businesses. For example, Meituan’s humanoid robots can be used for food delivery, Alibaba’s memory chips can reduce costs for its cloud services, and Tencent’s large models can improve the AI capabilities of its products.
In the past, the internet industry was dominated by user and traffic competition; now, the AI era is about controlling key links in the tech ecosystem. The billions in profits are just the start, and the real competition in the AI industry is yet to begin.