Alibaba Consolidates AI Units into 'Token Hub' Under CEO Eddie Wu

Alibaba Group Holding has executed its most significant organizational overhaul since its multi-way split in 2023, signaling a definitive shift toward a unified artificial intelligence strategy. By establishing the Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) Business Group, the Hangzhou-based tech giant is moving away from a fragmented approach where AI research and applications were scattered across its cloud and consumer divisions. The decision to place Group CEO Eddie Wu Yongming at the helm of ATH underscores the existential importance of AI to Alibaba’s future, effectively elevating the unit to a top-level peer alongside its core e-commerce and cloud computing businesses.

The reorganization is built around the fundamental technical unit of modern large language models (LLMs): the token. In an internal letter, Wu defined the mission of the new group as a three-pronged mandate to "create tokens, deliver tokens, and apply tokens." This terminology reflects a sophisticated understanding of the evolving AI value chain, where the production and distribution of intelligence units are becoming as standardized as cloud compute hours or electricity. By centralizing these efforts, Alibaba aims to streamline the transition from foundational research at Tongyi Laboratory to commercial applications in its Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) ecosystem.

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Tongyi Laboratory, the developer of the high-performing Qwen series of foundation models, has been moved out of Alibaba Cloud and into the ATH group.

Structurally, the reshuffle involves several high-stakes migrations. Tongyi Laboratory, the developer of the high-performing Qwen series of foundation models, has been moved out of Alibaba Cloud and into the ATH group. Similarly, the consumer-facing Qwen personal AI assistant unit, which had previously been operating as a standalone group, is now integrated under the ATH umbrella. This consolidation suggests that Alibaba has recognized the need for tighter feedback loops between its model developers and its application teams to keep pace with global competitors like Google DeepMind and OpenAI.

A key highlight of the new structure is the creation of the Wukong unit, which is specifically tasked with building AI-embedded enterprise workflows for Dingtalk, Alibaba’s workplace communication suite. This move mirrors Microsoft’s strategy with Copilot, aiming to turn AI from a novelty into a productivity engine for millions of corporate users. By dedicating a specific unit to enterprise workflows, Alibaba is positioning itself to capture the lucrative B2B AI market, leveraging Dingtalk’s existing massive user base as a distribution channel for its proprietary models.