Alibaba Hires DeepMind Scientist for Qwen AI as Shares Drop 2.6%
Alibaba has hired Google DeepMind scientist Zhou Hao to lead post-training research on its Qwen AI models after technical lead Lin Junyang and two core contributors exited. The reshuffle coincided with Qwen’s app reaching 203 million users in February, a 2.6% share slide and formation of a Foundation Model Task Force.
1. Leadership Change in Qwen AI Team
Zhou Hao, formerly a senior research scientist at Google DeepMind with contributions to Gemini 3 and AI Mode, has been appointed head of post-training research for Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, filling the role left vacant by technical lead Lin Junyang.
2. Talent Exodus
Lin Junyang stepped down as Qwen technical lead, and was followed by core contributors Binyuan Hui and Kaixin Li, creating a leadership gap in Alibaba’s AI division.
3. Qwen User Growth and Market Reaction
The Qwen mobile app saw monthly active users surge from 31 million in January to 203 million in February, while Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares fell 2.57% in premarket trading in response to the AI leadership shakeup.
4. Formation of Foundation Model Task Force
CEO Eddie Wu announced the creation of a Foundation Model Task Force to advance Alibaba’s AI research, to be led by Wu alongside CTO Jingren Zhou and executive Fan Luyuan, underscoring the company’s commitment to scaling its open-source AI model strategy.