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.

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.

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