Alibaba forms task force to boost AI development after Qwen chief's exit

The logo of Alibaba Group seen on a smartphone. Photo by Reuters

The task force will be coordinated by Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu, Group Chief Technology Officer Wu Zeming, and Alibaba Cloud CTO Zhou Jingren, who will mobilise group-wide resources for the initiative, the company said in a letter to staff on Thursday.

Zhou will continue ‌to ⁠lead Tongyi Laboratory, Alibaba's AI research arm, and oversee its ongoing projects, according to the letter.

The announcement came a day after Lin posted ⁠on X that he was stepping down from his role at Qwen, the third senior Qwen ⁠executive to leave this year.

In the staff letter, which confirmed Lin's departure, Alibaba pledged ⁠to channel additional resources toward the company's AI development efforts.