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Alibaba restructures AI division, appoints Fei-Fei Li as cloud CTO, elevates Tongyi Lab to large model unit

On the afternoon of April 8, Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma announced a major organizational restructuring via an internal letter. The changes center on accelerating AI development through the creation of the Group Technology Committee and business department upgrades, marking the start of a full-scale AI push.
Key Changes: World-Class Scientist Fei-Fei Li Joins
The standout move in this restructuring is the new role given to Fei-Fei Li :
CTO of Alibaba Cloud: Fei-Fei Li will officially assume the role of CTO of Alibaba Cloud , overseeing technology and AI cloud infrastructure development.
Group Technology Committee: She will also join the newly formed Group Technology Committee alongside Jingren Zhou and Zeming Wu, with the committee personally led by Jack Ma .
Department Upgrade: Tongyi Lab Becomes Independent
To further consolidate its strengths, Alibaba has upgraded its AI R&D system:
Tongyi Large Model Business Unit: The former Tongyi Lab has been officially elevated to the Tongyi Large Model Business Unit, with Jingren Zhou at the helm.
Clear Roles: Jingren Zhou will take on the role of Chief AI Architect of the Technology Committee, while Zeming Wu will focus on Group CTO responsibilities, overseeing AI inference platform development.
Strategic Background: From ATH Business Group to Qwen 3.6 Plus
2026 is seen as a pivotal year for Alibaba's accelerated AI development, with a flurry of recent activity:
Token King: Alibaba previously established the ATH Business Group (Alibaba Token Hub), dedicated to creating, delivering, and applying Tokens.
Outstanding Performance: The latest Qwen 3.6 Plus model recently ranked first in global large model weekly usage on OpenRouter, demonstrating its strong market penetration.
Management Coordination: Realigning the Talent Pipeline
In line with its AI strategy, Alibaba has also made minor adjustments to key business leadership positions:
Zeming Wu will focus on group-wide technical work.
Yanqun Lei will take over as CEO of Taobao Flash Sales.
Conclusion: Investing in the Key Battlefield
This restructuring means Alibaba has completed a full-chain announcement covering everything from underlying infrastructure to upper-layer large model applications. By combining top global talent with core business units, Alibaba is aiming to seize the right to define the AGI era through a flatter, more professional organizational structure as the AI race enters its second half.
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On the afternoon of April 8, Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma announced a major organizational restructuring via an internal letter. The changes center on accelerating AI development through the creation of the Group Technology Committee and business department upgrades, marking the start of a full-scale AI push.
Key Changes: World-Class Scientist Fei-Fei Li Joins
The standout move in this restructuring is the new role given to
CTO of Alibaba Cloud:
Group Technology Committee: She will also join the newly formed Group Technology Committee alongside Jingren Zhou and Zeming Wu, with the committee personally led by
Department Upgrade: Tongyi Lab Becomes Independent
To further consolidate its strengths, Alibaba has upgraded its AI R&D system:
Tongyi Large Model Business Unit: The former Tongyi Lab has been officially elevated to the Tongyi Large Model Business Unit, with Jingren Zhou at the helm.
Clear Roles: Jingren Zhou will take on the role of Chief AI Architect of the Technology Committee, while Zeming Wu will focus on Group CTO responsibilities, overseeing AI inference platform development.
Strategic Background: From ATH Business Group to Qwen 3.6 Plus
2026 is seen as a pivotal year for Alibaba's accelerated AI development, with a flurry of recent activity:
Token King: Alibaba previously established the ATH Business Group (Alibaba Token Hub), dedicated to creating, delivering, and applying Tokens.
Outstanding Performance: The latest
Management Coordination: Realigning the Talent Pipeline
In line with its AI strategy, Alibaba has also made minor adjustments to key business leadership positions:
Zeming Wu will focus on group-wide technical work.
Yanqun Lei will take over as CEO of Taobao Flash Sales.
Conclusion: Investing in the Key Battlefield
This restructuring means Alibaba has completed a full-chain announcement covering everything from underlying infrastructure to upper-layer large model applications. By combining top global talent with core business units, Alibaba is aiming to seize the right to define the AGI era through a flatter, more professional organizational structure as the AI race enters its second half.
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