Chinese tech giant offloads Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital to fund AI push
Alibaba Group is cutting loose a profitable piece of its empire. On Monday, the company confirmed an agreement to sell its entire stake in Lingxi Games to Asian private equity firm Trustar Capital. The deal is valued at least at $1.5 billion, with one source telling Reuters Alibaba could collect more than $2 billion.
The move fits a clear pattern. Under CEO Eddie Wu, Alibaba is shedding non-core assets to pour capital and management attention into artificial intelligence and cloud computing. The company aims for $100 billion in AI revenue within five years. Gaming no longer sits at the center of that plan.
Deal Details and Continuity
An internal memo from Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu, reviewed by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters, outlined the transfer. Alibaba will hand over its full ownership. Zhou and the existing management team will stay in place.
“Alibaba is handing Lingxi to Trustar due to better focus on its strategic priorities,” Zhou wrote. He added that Trustar brings industry resources and operational expertise for the studio’s next phase.
Neither Alibaba nor Trustar has publicly confirmed the exact price or closing timeline. Regulatory approvals and other conditions remain undisclosed.
Lingxi’s Assets and Track Record
Guangzhou-based Lingxi employs about 1,200 people and runs five self-developed studios plus platforms including 9Game and Jiaoyimao. Its standout title is Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition, a multiplayer strategy game developed with Japan’s Koei Tecmo. The game has drawn a large player base in China and beyond.
Alibaba first shopped the unit in June, targeting a valuation of roughly $1.0–1.3 billion. Trustar’s higher bid reflects competitive interest from other Chinese game publishers that ultimately fell short.
Broader Portfolio Cleanup
This sale continues Alibaba’s recent divestitures. In late 2024 the company exited hypermarket operator Sun Art and department store chain Intime for a combined $2.6 billion. Rival ByteDance sold its own gaming studio earlier this year. Both firms are redirecting resources toward AI as competition intensifies.
For investors, the transaction frees cash and simplifies Alibaba’s structure. For Lingxi, private equity ownership may allow sharper focus on its core franchise without competing for attention inside a sprawling tech conglomerate.
AI Disclosure: This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools and was reviewed and edited by the Glowls News editorial team before publication.