Recently, there have been rumors circulating online that Alibaba's AI application "Tongyi" has been spun off from Alibaba Cloud. After the adjustment, the Tongyi App will level up its intelligent search product "Quark", while the Tongyi big model will remain on Alibaba Cloud.
Time Finance has learned from multiple sources that "Tongyi" will be spun off from Alibaba Cloud. It is reported that the Tongyi App is managed by Wu Jia, and Quark and Tongyi App are two brands that develop in parallel in the intelligent information business group. Alibaba Tongyi Laboratory and its subsidiary Tongyi Big Model have not undergone any changes.
It is reported that Wu Jia is currently the Vice President of Alibaba Group, President of Taotian User Platform, President of Alibaba Mama Business Unit, and President of Alibaba Intelligent Information Business Group. After this year's Tmall Double 11 media communication meeting, Wu Jia also gave interviews to media such as Times Finance about Taotian's deployment on Double 11.
On November 21st of this year, Alibaba Group CEO Wu Yongming issued an email establishing an e-commerce business group, with Jiang Fan serving as CEO. Starting from the end of November, there have been rumors in the market that the management team of Taobao and Tmall will undergo minor adjustments. There are also rumors that Wu Jia will be transferred to Alibaba Cloud, and there are also rumors that he will return to Alibaba Group and focus on exploring Alibaba's AI To C application business. But currently, Wu Jia's next move has not been publicly announced.
Public information shows that Wu Jia is one of the representatives of Alibaba Group's "post-85" management team. In 2010, Wu Jia joined Alibaba after graduation and held multiple important positions during this time.
In 2017, Wu Jia was appointed as the General Manager of Alibaba's UC Entertainment Division; In 2019, Alibaba's Innovation Business Group was established, with Wu Jia responsible for the business development and product innovation of UC and Shuqi divisions; In 2021, Alibaba established the Intelligent Information Business Group based on the Innovation Business Group, with Wu Jia serving as the General Manager. In the same year, he was promoted to the President of Alibaba's Intelligent Information Business Group. During this period, Wu Jia led the team to incubate popular C-end products such as Quark Browser and Quark Cloud, which are highly favored by young people.
At the end of last year, after a series of organizational restructuring at Alibaba, Wu Jia was appointed to be responsible for the Taotian User Platform Division and Alibaba Mama Division.
Quark is actually a major representative of Alibaba's AI ToC business. In 2016, Quark was incubated internally by UC Browser, focusing on a minimalist, efficient, and ad free browser. In 2023, Quark has expanded many intelligent tools, including "Quark Listen", "Quark Scan King", "AI Natural Language Search", and more. In January of this year, the Quark PC Browser was officially launched.
Image source: Screenshot from the official website of Boak
According to the new list in November, Quark's monthly visits exceeded 63 million. According to the latest data from PConline, Quark PC ranks first in the download volume of AI applications on domestic computers in 2024. According to a report released by CCID Research Institute, during the 2024 college entrance examination season, the usage of Quark AI search exceeded 100 million times, and the user base reached a record high in recent years.
The Tongyi App is a versatile AI assistant developed by Alibaba Cloud, integrating various advanced AI technologies such as natural language processing, speech recognition, and image generation. According to QuestMobile's data, as of July, the monthly active user base of AI native applications (APPs) has exceeded 66.3 million, with Tongyi ranking in the top five and a monthly active user base of 4.24 million.
Image source: screenshot from Tongyi web version
According to sources, Alibaba Cloud will focus more on To B business in the future, while Tongyi App will be classified as an To C application in the intelligent information business group. Although the latter will be incorporated into the group, the underlying AI basic capabilities will still be provided and supported by Alibaba Cloud.
This year is the first year of AI application implementation, and many large model manufacturers are working hard to build AI applications. The Tongyi APP has also developed some AI application functions that are highly compatible with young people. For example, the "National Stage" channel launched by Tongyi App in April allows photos to act and sing; In August, the Tongyi web version launched the "PPT creation" function; In November, Tongyi launched a code mode that can generate applications in plain language, including mini games, data charts, websites, resumes, etc.
This also echoes the organizational restructuring of Alibaba Group last year. Since Wu Yongming took over as CEO of Alibaba Group in September last year, he has clarified the strategic focus and priority choices of the entire group, defined core businesses and business strategies, and resolutely made choices around the main business. In November 2023, Alibaba announced the first batch of strategic level innovative businesses for young people and technological development trends -1688, Xianyu, DingTalk, and Quark, and focused on promoting the reform of a younger management team.
In the future, with the upgrade of Tongyi App to a business at the same level as Quark, Alibaba's Intelligent Information Business Group may become an important outlet for Alibaba's AI To C applications.
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