Alibaba Confirms HappyHorse1.0 Tops AI Video Benchmarks

Alibaba Group confirmed on April 10 that its ATH AI Innovation Unit developed the HappyHorse1.0 video generation model, which anonymously debuted atop global AI benchmarks earlier in the week. The model appeared on the Artificial Analysis platform around April 7, quickly surpassing competitors in blind tests for both text-to-video and image-to-video categories, sparking intense speculation about its origins.

Before the disclosure, industry observers guessed at involvement from major Chinese tech firms like Tencent or Alibaba, or even an independent developer. A newly created account on X linked the project to Alibaba's ATH unit, describing it as an ongoing effort. Alibaba verified the post to CNBC and stated that HappyHorse remains in internal testing, with application programming interface access planned for the near future to enable developer integration.

The revelation boosted Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares, which closed 2.12 percent higher on Friday after the confirmation. The stock had already risen 6.75 percent earlier that week amid broader tech sector gains and growing rumors about the model's backing. This performance underscores Alibaba's intensifying focus on...