Alibaba's shares opened 10% higher in Hong Kong on Friday to reach their highest level in more than three years, after it reported third-quarter revenues just above analysts' estimates and said it plans to invest more in e-commerce and AI.

Chief executive Eddie Wu said AI was "the kind of opportunity for industry transformation that only comes around only once every few decades."

For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Chinese tech giant's revenue jumped 8 percent year-over-year to 280.1 billion renminbi, or $38.3 billion, beating analyst expectations.