US billionaires reshuffle Chinese tech stock buys amid AI boom

Investors David Tepper and Stanley Druckenmiller are among those switching up their bets, with Chinese giant Baidu gaining investment from both

Some of Wall Street’s best-known billionaire investors are reshuffling their bets on Chinese technology stocks amid the artificial-intelligence boom, with Stanley Druckenmiller returning to the market for the first time in more than two years with a stake in Baidu.

Druckenmiller, an investor known for his decades-long track record of outsized returns, bought 88,200 of Baidu’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) – US-traded securities that represent shares in the Chinese company – through his Duquesne Family Office firm in the second quarter, according to its latest 13F filing disclosed on Friday.

The purchase, worth about US$10.1 million, marks the firm’s first investment in a US-listed Chinese company since it exited Alibaba Group Holding in the fourth quarter of 2023. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Appaloosa Management, the US hedge fund founded by billionaire investor David Tepper, also increased its bet on Baidu, nearly doubling its stake in the Chinese search-engine operator to 1.3 million ADRs worth about US$148 million during the quarter, its latest 13F filing showed.

The increase in Baidu contrasted with Tepper’s retreat from other Chinese internet companies. Appaloosa slashed its Alibaba holdings by 42 per cent and exited JD.com and PDD Holdings, a notable reversal from late 2024, when Tepper broadly increased his China exposure after pledging to buy “everything” related to the country.