On the evening of March 5, 2026, Alibaba Group officially released a statement to refute recent rumors circulating in the market, including "the core team of the Qwen model has collectively resigned" and "adjustments to the open-source strategy." The statement clearly stated that the development and service of large models are all proceeding normally.

The statement pointed out that the current team structure of the Tongyi Qwen model is stable, and there have been no mass changes as reported online. All AI products and technical services under the company are operating normally. Regarding the route selection that has attracted widespread attention, Alibaba reiterated its long-term commitment to the open-source strategy and revealed that the basic model team has never been subject to commercial KPIs such as daily active users (DAU). The only core goal of the Qwen large model is to continuously pursue the limits of intelligence, ultimately achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Tongyi Qwen (5) Qwen

This statement not only quelled the rumors of personnel turmoil but also further clarified Alibaba's strategic focus in the AI field — through continuous investment without considering short-term returns, building world-class large model technology and an open-source ecosystem.

At the same time, Alibaba said it will continue to increase resources support for the Qwen team and issue invitations to top talents around the world. As the competition in large models enters a critical phase of stockpiling, Alibaba's decision to take on the pressure of commercialization and focus on technological extremes reflects its deeper logic of consolidating its voice in underlying technology through an open-source ecosystem.