Alibaba consolidates AI efforts under new business unit led by CEO

Alibaba is merging its AI operations into a new business unit called "Alibaba Token Hub" (ATH), led directly by CEO Eddie Wu, Bloomberg reports. The unit brings together the research team behind the Qwen models, the consumer app division, the communication platform DingTalk, and Quark-branded devices like smart glasses.

The goal is to speed up collaboration between research, product development, and sales - and to better monetize AI across the company. The name "Token Hub" is a direct nod to the billing units used in the AI business.

According to insiders, Alibaba also plans to unveil an AI agent for enterprise customers later this week. The agent runs on Qwen and will gradually be integrated with Taobao and Alipay. The restructuring follows the surprise departure of Qwen research lead Junyang Lin in early March.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese AI providers have a harder time making money from AI than Western competitors like OpenAI, largely because Chinese users are reluctant to pay for software subscriptions.