Alibaba and Tencent lost a combined $74.9 billion of market value in the week to the 13 November close, by our arithmetic on Yahoo Finance data and their exchange filings. Over the same week, Shanghai-listed AI chip designer Cambricon rose 21.92%. On 13 November itself, Z.ai, the Hong Kong-listed large language model developer, fell 10.04%, and ten of the thirteen Chinese AI stocks we track closed lower.
The Financial Times reported on 13 November that “A sell-off in shares of Chinese start-ups that make AI models deepened on Friday”, which it tied to investor fears of tighter restrictions from Washington on chip sales. It was the first full Asian session after Nvidia’s 8-K on the chief executive’s resignation, which we reported at 13:52 UTC on 12 November. Shanghai closed at 07:00 UTC and Hong Kong at 08:00 UTC; the figures here are closing prices.
Business Pill · Neoclouds Explained
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on renting AI chips by the hour from cloud providers. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss these companies or this session.
The key insight: On 13 November, ten of the thirteen Chinese AI stocks we track closed lower, and the only gains were in Shanghai-listed chip designers. Z.ai fell -10.04% on the day and -18.19% over two sessions, while Cambricon rose +8.76% over the two sessions, by our arithmetic on Yahoo Finance data.
Z.ai closed at HK$408.4, -10.04%. MiniMax closed at HK$152.4, -8.19%. Kuaishou closed at HK$25.92, -4.50%. Alibaba closed at HK$90.55, -3.46%. Xiaomi closed at HK$28.86, -3.74%. Tencent closed at HK$386.6, -3.06%. Baidu closed at HK$74.20, -3.39%. Every change is against the stock’s 12 November close.
All seven of the model developers and platform companies we track closed lower, with a median fall of 3.74%, by our arithmetic. The Hang Seng Index closed -1.55% and the Hang Seng Tech Index -3.02%.
Two Shanghai-listed AI chip designers and three Hong Kong-listed AI stocks, daily closes rebased to 100 at the 6 November close, to the 13 November close (Yahoo Finance data, close 13 Nov). The rebasing is our arithmetic.
The Chipmakers Split by Market
In Shanghai: Cambricon closed at ¥978.9, +0.60%. Hygon closed at ¥203.3, +0.46%. Moore Threads closed at ¥372.0, -2.16%. MetaX closed at ¥570.9, +0.33%. The STAR 50 index closed -2.30%.
In Hong Kong, the two contract chipmakers fell: SMIC closed at HK$48.52, -0.45%. Hua Hong closed at HK$72.30, -6.10%. Of the thirteen stocks in our list, ten closed lower and three higher on the day; the median move was -3.39%, by our arithmetic.
Thirteen Chinese AI stocks on 13 November: each close against its 12 November close, chipmakers in teal and model developers and platforms in red (Yahoo Finance data, close 13 Nov). The selection and the changes are our arithmetic.
Two Sessions and the Week
From the 11 November close to the 13 November close: Z.ai -18.19%; MiniMax -15.38%; Alibaba -9.99%; Kuaishou -9.56%; Tencent -5.62%; Baidu -5.60%; Xiaomi -4.12%; Hua Hong -3.79%; SMIC -0.98%; Hygon +3.54%; Moore Threads +5.98%; Cambricon +8.76%; MetaX +9.15%. The median of the four Shanghai chip designers was +7.37%; the median of the seven model developers and platforms -9.56%, by our arithmetic.
The FT wrote that “Shares of Chinese chip designer Cambricon Technologies have soared more than 20 per cent this week”. On Yahoo Finance data, Cambricon closed 21.92% above its 6 November close. The FT also reported that this week’s rout wiped a combined $75bn off Alibaba and Tencent after falls of 14 per cent and 8 per cent. On the same data, Alibaba closed 13.68% and Tencent 7.91% below their 6 November closes.
The Market Value Arithmetic
We multiplied the issued shares in each company’s October monthly return to the Hong Kong exchange by the change in price, converted at US$1 = HK$7.8452. Over the week to the 13 November close, Alibaba and Tencent lost a combined $74.9 billion, close to the FT’s figure. Over the two sessions since the 11 November close they lost $52.2 billion: Alibaba $25.5 billion and Tencent $26.7 billion, by our arithmetic. On 13 November alone the pair lost $22.4 billion.
The same session ran differently for the companies that build Nvidia’s hardware. Of the eleven Asian Nvidia suppliers and partners in our close report on 13 November, all eleven opened above their 12 November closes and five closed below them, with a median close of +0.42%. In the Chinese list here, ten of thirteen closed lower, with a median of -3.39%, by our arithmetic.
As we read the prices, the session split the list by what each company does with chips. The seven model developers and platforms all fell, with a median of -3.74%, while three of the four Shanghai chip designers rose. In the same session, the median Asian Nvidia supplier in our 13 November close report closed +0.42%. The prices alone do not show why.
Kenny Ng, Everbright Securities International, quoted by the FT, 13 Nov 2026
“the US might tighten chip export controls at the policy and regulatory levels”
Three Implications
FOR ALIBABA AND TENCENT The pair lost a combined $74.9 billion of market value over the week to the 13 November close, by our arithmetic on their October share counts.
FOR THE MODEL DEVELOPERS Z.ai closed -18.19% and MiniMax -15.38% from their 11 November closes, by our arithmetic.
FOR THE CHIP DESIGNERS Cambricon closed +21.92% and MetaX +15.91% from their 6 November closes, by our arithmetic.
The framework argues that the AI supply chain is “creating geopolitical leverage that operates independently of who has the best models”.
As we read it, the framework is useful for reading this list: on 13 November all seven model developers and platforms we track closed lower, while the three stocks that rose were Shanghai-listed chip designers. The prices do not show why, and the framework predates the session and does not discuss these companies’ share prices.
What Is Not Established
The prices show what the thirteen stocks did; they do not show why. The reading that fears of tighter chip restrictions drove the sell-off is the FT’s and the analyst’s. None of the bills has become law. The list is our selection, and a different list would give a different count and median.
This Week In The AI Supercycle
The Great Convergence of Capital, Power, and Geopolitics
This week’s issue: for two years the AI build-out was priced as a supply story, and last week as a credit story. This week it was priced as a permission story, and the answer arrived as a cost, not a ban.
On 13 November, ten of the thirteen Chinese AI stocks we track closed lower; Z.ai fell 10.04% and MiniMax 8.19%, while Cambricon, Hygon and MetaX rose in Shanghai. Over the week, Alibaba and Tencent lost a combined $74.9 billion of market value, by our arithmetic on Yahoo Finance data and their exchange filings.
A note on sourcing. Closing prices are exchange prices carried by Yahoo Finance (Yahoo Finance data, close 13 Nov), fetched on 13 November 2026 at 08:27 UTC, after the Shanghai and Hong Kong closes; the exchange rate is the one Yahoo Finance showed at the same time. Share counts are the issued shares in Alibaba’s and Tencent’s monthly returns to the Hong Kong exchange for October.
We read the Financial Times article in full; the reading that fears of tighter chip restrictions drove the sell-off is the FT’s. Policy context comes from our earlier reporting, linked. Percentage changes, market value changes, the list of thirteen and its medians are our arithmetic. We did not contact the companies.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
