Alibaba Splits AI Team to Sharpen Consumer and Business Focus

Alibaba Group Holding has reorganized its artificial intelligence (AI) team, separating the developers of its AI chatbot Tongyi Qianwen from the team responsible for building its underlying large language model (LLM). This restructuring, reported by Chinese tech media outlet 36Kr and cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), aims to enhance Alibaba's ability to serve both consumer and business markets more effectively.

Under the new structure, the AI chatbot team will operate within the Intelligent Information Platform, a division focused on consumer-oriented products such as UC Browser and the search engine Quark. Meanwhile, the LLM research and development division, known as Tongyi Lab, will remain part of Alibaba Cloud. Tongyi Lab will continue to prioritize foundational research and provide support for specific product development.

This move reflects the growing competition among Chinese tech giants to transform AI technology into commercially viable products. Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen, also referred to as Qianwen, is one of China's leading generative AI models, offering chatbot functionalities similar to ChatGPT.

Notably, Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, has not officially commented on the restructuring.