Alibaba Is Said to Plan IPO for AI Chipmaking Unit T-Head (1)

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is preparing to list its chipmaking arm, tapping strong investor interest in the small circle of companies aspiring to compete with Nvidia Corp. in the hot AI accelerator business.

As a first step, Alibaba plans to restructure the unit as a business partly owned by employees, people familiar with the matter said. The company will then explore an initial public offering though the timing for that remains unclear, the people said, asking to remain anonymous discussing private plans. Alibaba’s American depositary receipts rose more than 5% in US pre-market trading.

The company is still at the ...