Alibaba to sell gaming unit for $1.5 billion in strategic shift to artificial intelligence

Tech Written by: Proactive 08:05 Mon 17 Aug 2026 --> Edited by: Jamie Ashcroft Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Proactive Proactive leads the world in up-to-the-minute, multi-media news provision, events organisation, investor relations management and investor research Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Alibaba Group ( NYSE:BABA ) View Price & Profile Alibaba to sell gaming unit for $1.5 billion in strategic shift to artificial intelligence Published: 08:05 17 Aug 2026 BST Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) , the Chinese e-commerce group, has agreed to sell its video game division to Trustar Capital, the Asian private equity firm, in a transaction that Bloomberg News reported may value the unit at more than $1.5 billion. The divestment of Lingxi Games is part of a broader corporate reorganisation led by Eddie Wu, the chief executive, who is shedding non-core assets to focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. Zhou Bingshu, the head of the gaming studio, described the move in an internal memorandum distributed to staff on Monday and reviewed by Bloomberg News. The executive explained that the parent company is handing Lingxi to Trustar to better focus on its strategic priorities, although he did not disclose the exact size of the deal. This corporate shift follows the recent launch of the largest AI model ever produced by the technology conglomerate. The company claims its new system offers performance comparable to the latest breakthroughs from Anthropic PBC, the US developer, as Chinese firms attempt to challenge their Western competitors. Management has set an ambitious internal target of reaching $100 billion in AI revenue within the next five years. Lingxi Games is best known for Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition, a massive multiplayer online strategy title developed in partnership with Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., the Japanese publisher. Representatives for both the seller and the prospective private equity buyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the transaction. Continue reading