Chip stocks showed strength in morning trading. At the time of writing, ILUVATAR COREX (09903) rose 19.69% to HK$459.6. BIREN TECH (06082) increased by 9.57% to HK$47.18. SMIC (00981) advanced 6.23% to HK$69.9. GPIXEL (03277) gained 3.26% to HK$84. HUA HONG SEMI (01347) was up 3.61% to HK$112.

The movement follows the release of a highly impressive Q1 2026 report by Alphabet, Google's parent company, after the U.S. market close on April 29. The standout performer was Google Cloud, whose results officially mark its entry into a mature profitability phase. Quarterly revenue surpassed the $20 billion mark for the first time, reaching a growth rate of 63.4% year-over-year, significantly higher than the $12.26 billion reported in the same period last year.

Market analysis indicates that Google Cloud's surge is primarily driven by robust demand from enterprise clients for generative AI infrastructure and customized Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips. Google has further solidified its leading position through an additional $40 billion investment in Anthropic and the launch of its eighth-generation TPU.

TPUs are considered one of the top alternatives to NVIDIA's chips. As companies race to secure computing power for AI applications, TPUs have become a highly sought-after resource. According to CITIC Securities, as Google deepens its collaboration with leading AI companies on next-generation TPU clusters, TPUs are becoming a critical foundation for cutting-edge model training.