Alibaba Group is selling its gaming arm in a deal worth at least $1.5 billion, a move that would accelerate the Chinese e-commerce giant's shift toward artificial intelligence.

Asian private equity firm Truststar Capital has reached an agreement to acquire Lingshi Games, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg.

Lingshi CEO James Zhou Pengchu said, without disclosing the size of the deal, that Alibaba transferred Lingshi to Truststar to better focus on its strategic priorities.

The deal could value the studio at more than $1.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg report last week. Alibaba and Truststar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.