Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (NYSE:BABA) (NYSE:BABAF) AI breakout isn't just powering an 80% year-to-date rally — it's rewriting one billionaire's P&L in real time.
As Qwen stormed past 10 million downloads in its first week, igniting a sharp rerating in China tech, billionaire David Tepper's long-held Alibaba position suddenly flipped into one of the biggest mark-to-market wins of the quarter.
- Track BABA stock here.
His 6.45 million–share stake, built at an average cost of $81 per share, carried a cost basis of roughly $522 million. At current levels, that stake is worth about $987 million, handing the Appaloosa founder a gain of more than $465 million — a swing that lands squarely on the back of Alibaba's AI momentum.
Qwen's Viral Surge Rewires The Alibaba Narrative
The catalyst is clear. Alibaba didn't just rebrand its AI products — it consolidated them into a single consumer-facing push under the Qwen banner, and the market is treating it like a long-overdue reset.
The app shot into the top ranks of China's App Store, analysts began calling it a credible contender for an "AI-era WeChat," and investor confidence snapped back almost overnight. What makes the run more potent is that Qwen's momentum is arriving alongside Alibaba Cloud's renewed AI push, tightening the link between product traction and stock rerating.
Jack Ma's Return Adds Fuel To The Story
There's also a narrative tailwind powerful enough to pull in sidelined investors: Jack Ma quietly stepped back into a hands-on role at Ant Group just as the company launched its new multimodal AI assistant, LingGuang. The reappearance matters — Ma's involvement historically coincides with strategic pivots, and the timing suggests a coordinated push across the Alibaba ecosystem to reclaim ground in China's AI race.
Why Tepper's Win Matters To Investors
Tepper didn't hold Alibaba flawlessly — he trimmed repeatedly through 2024 and 2025 — but he never walked away. That decision now anchors one of the sharpest performance reversals tied to China tech's rebirth.
For investors, the takeaway is simple: Qwen's blistering start isn't just a product win — it's a reminder that AI execution can rewrite the math on legacy tech giants, and fast.
Read Next:
Photo: Shutterstock
