Alibaba Group has established a new task force aimed at accelerating the development of its foundation models following the departure of Lin Junyang, who previously headed the company’s Qwen AI division. The move reflects the company’s efforts to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities as competition in the sector continues to intensify.
The initiative will be coordinated by Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu along with Group Chief Technology Officer Wu Zeming and Zhou Jingren, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Cloud. According to an internal communication shared with employees, the leadership team will oversee the effort and mobilise resources from across Alibaba’s business units to support the initiative.
The development follows Lin Junyang’s decision to step down from his role leading the Qwen division earlier this week, a departure that has drawn attention amid heightened competition for artificial intelligence talent across China’s technology sector.
As part of the new structure, Zhou Jingren will continue to head Alibaba’s Tongyi Laboratory, the company’s main artificial intelligence research arm, while working closely with the newly formed task force to advance ongoing projects.
The restructuring indicates that Alibaba is moving toward a more coordinated approach to AI development. By bringing together expertise and resources from its cloud, research and commerce divisions, the company aims to accelerate progress on large language models and other AI-driven technologies.
In its internal communication, Alibaba reiterated its commitment to expanding investment in artificial intelligence and ensuring continued progress in its model development roadmap, underscoring the strategic importance of AI across the group’s long-term technology agenda.
