Alibaba (阿里巴巴) is reorganising its consumer AI push, setting up a dedicated Qwen (千问) consumer business group as it chases a bigger goal: building an AI super app. The new unit combines Alibaba’s former Intelligent Information and Intelligent Connectivity divisions under the leadership of the group’s vice president Wu Jia (吴嘉).
Its remit includes the Qwen app, Quark, AI hardware projects, UC Browser and Shuqi Literature – a lineup that signals how seriously Alibaba is treating the consumer front of the AI race.
Internally, the mandate behind an Alibaba super app is clear. Qwen is to become Alibaba’s primary entry point in the AI era. Not just another chatbot, but a daily-use platform. Executives have described ambitions for Qwen to evolve into an always-on AI assistant, embedded across phones, PCs, smart glasses and cars, and woven into the practical moments of everyday life.
That vision has accelerated over the past month. Qwen’s public beta launched on November 17, built on Alibaba’s Qwen3 open-source large language model. Rather than positioning itself as a premium tool, Qwen is free to use and tightly linked to real-world scenarios, putting it into direct competition with ChatGPT on both capability and accessibility.
For Alibaba, this is a defining project. A future-battle-of-the-AI-era type undertaking. The strategy hinges on integration. Maps, food delivery, ticketing, office tools, learning services, shopping and health functions are all slated to connect directly into Qwen, turning it from a conversational interface into a system that can assist across all facets of daily life.
Early traction has been strong. Qwen passed 10 million downloads in its first week of public testing, outpacing rivals such as ChatGPT, Sora and DeepSeek in early growth. The app is also being folded into other products, including the Quark AI browser and Quark AI glasses, expanding its reach beyond the smartphone.
For now, the playbook has two phases: refine the product and win user trust, then align Qwen more deeply across Alibaba’s sprawling ecosystem. Bigger updates are already on the way.
