Arm AI Chip, Alibaba CPU, SpaceX IPO Update: Mar 29

Two CPU launches from Arm and Alibaba signal that the AI chip competition is broadening beyond GPUs, while SpaceX’s IPO ambitions come into sharper focus ahead of what could be the largest public offering in history.

Key points

• Arm announced the Arm AGI CPU alongside partnerships with Meta and OpenAI, targeting energy-efficient AI computing workloads.
• Alibaba unveiled a new CPU specifically designed for AI agents and inferencing, an area it sees as distinct from the GPU-dominated training market.
• SpaceX is targeting a $75 billion IPO, which would set a global record for a share offering.
• Semiconductor ETFs have risen year-to-date, with NVDA and AMD named as leading contributors amid geopolitical de-escalation signals.
• Tower Semiconductor disclosed new AI power technology, though ARK Investment trimmed its TSEM stake by 31% in Q4 2025.

Arm and Alibaba both bet on CPUs for AI inference

The dominant narrative in AI chips has been about Nvidia’s GPU monopoly on training workloads. This week pushed back on that framing, at least partially.

Arm CEO Rene Haas unveiled the Arm AGI CPU and announced partnerships with Meta and OpenAI. The stated focus is energy-efficient AI computing, a constraint that becomes more pressing as inference scales across billions of daily queries. Arm’s position here is structurally interesting: it licenses chip architecture rather than manufacturing silicon itself, so partnerships with hyperscalers like Meta and AI labs like OpenAI could pull its designs into a large portion of deployed AI infrastructure.

Separately, Alibaba revealed a CPU built for AI agents, with CNBC noting that CPUs are increasingly seen as the right tool for inference and agentic workloads, even as Nvidia continues to dominate GPU-based training. Alibaba’s move is notable partly because it underscores how Chinese tech firms are pushing to develop domestic chip capabilities, a trend that has been accelerating since export controls tightened on Nvidia hardware in China.

Neither announcement came with detailed performance benchmarks or volume commitments in the available source material, so investor impact remains hard to quantify at this stage.

Does the SpaceX IPO reset space stock valuations?

SpaceX is preparing to file for a public listing targeting up to $75 billion, which would make it the largest IPO globally on record. A separate analysis argues the company’s profit margins expanded by roughly 6% ahead of that listing, though the sources do not detail the mechanism behind that figure.

The IPO’s ripple effects on adjacent publicly traded space stocks are drawing attention. EchoStar (SATS), Rocket Lab (RKLB), and Planet Labs (PL) have been flagged as potential beneficiaries if SpaceX’s debut resets sector valuations upward. The logic is straightforward: a blockbuster SpaceX listing would give analysts a new benchmark for pricing smaller space companies that currently lack a direct public comparator.

That said, valuation re-rating can cut both ways. If SpaceX lists at a premium that the broader sector cannot justify on fundamentals, it could just as easily highlight how much cheaper smaller players are for good reason.

Semiconductor ETFs and the broader chip trade

Semiconductor ETFs have climbed year-to-date, with Seeking Alpha citing NVDA and AMD as key drivers and geopolitical de-escalation as a tailwind. The specific ETFs ranked include SOXL, PSI, FTXL, SOXX, and SMH, though YTD performance figures for each were not available in the source summary.

The de-escalation angle matters for chip investors because semiconductor supply chains remain exposed to trade and export-control risk. Any sustained reduction in geopolitical tension could ease the uncertainty premium that has weighed on names with significant Asia-Pacific manufacturing or revenue exposure.

Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) also disclosed new AI power technology this week, though the detail available is limited. More notable from an investment-signal perspective: ARK Investment Management reduced its TSEM position by 31% between Q3 and Q4 2025, cutting from roughly 39,600 shares to 27,600 shares, even as the position’s dollar value rose slightly to $3.24 million, suggesting price appreciation offset the share reduction.

Nothing on this site is investment advice. This update is an independent editorial summary for informational purposes only.