Alibaba’s QWen Hits 30 Million Users in 23 Days, Signaling Shift to ‘Doer’ Agents
Shift to Alibaba reported that its Qwen App exceeded 30 million monthly active users just 23 days into its public beta. The application is pivoting from simple conversation to execution, launching features including AI-generated presentations, writing, and problem-solving.
This deployment marks a critical step in CEO Eddie Wu’s "AI-driven" strategy. The company aims to establish Qwen as a "personal AI assistant" and a global "super entry point," moving to compete directly with ChatGPT by transitioning from a dialogue interface to a functional service platform.
The launch aligns with a global trend where the performance gap between top-tier models is narrowing. According to the AI Index Report 2025, Chinese models have closed the distance with closed-source flagships, particularly in coding and reasoning tasks.
Leveraging its diversified business portfolio, Alibaba plans to integrate services such as maps, food delivery, travel, and shopping directly into the Qianwen App. This strategy seeks to create an "AI universal interface," utilizing internal ecosystem synergies rather than relying heavily on third-party plugins.
To support these capabilities, the company has ramped up infrastructure spending. Alibaba announced an investment of RMB 380 billion yuan (US$52.6 billion) into AI infrastructure this year. Its proprietary Qwen model family has become the world's leading open-source collection, surpassing 600 million downloads.
Commercial adoption of the underlying technology is gaining traction. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently noted significant reliance on Alibaba’s Qwen models, citing their speed and cost-efficiency compared to competitors.
The market has responded positively to Alibaba’s aggressive AI integration across its business lines. The company’s stock has risen over 87% in 2025, as investors re-evaluate its potential to dominate the "consumer AI entry point" battle in China’s market of 515 million generative AI users.