Alibaba launches new version of AI assistant tool as competition heats up

Alibaba Group on Thursday launched a new version of its artificial intelligence assistant app that will be powered by its own flagship Qwen AI reasoning model, amid a heating global race to produce out next-generation tech.

The launch is the company’s latest effort to gain an edge amid growing competition on the AI application front, further intensified by the emergence of DeepSeek’s blockbuster R1 model model earlier this year.

Up till now, Quark, which was launched in 2016, had been using the app’s own AI models, known as QuarkLLM. The updated version will integrate functions including a chatbot, deep thinking, task execution into a one-stop app, Alibaba said Thursday.

The company can benefit a lot from AI within its own business by enhancing advertisements on its platforms, the chairman Joe Tsai told CNBC’s David Faber on Wednesday. The CEO also emphasized in a recent column for the South China Morning Post that practical applications were key to maximizing intelligence in AI model development.

Last Thursday, the tech giant unveiled QwQ-32B, its latest AI reasoning model, which it claimed “rivals cutting-edge reasoning model, e.g., DeepSeek-R1.”

Alibaba last month announced a plan to invest $380 billion yuan ($52.5 billion) in cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the next three years. The company claimed its Qwen AI has performed well in official benchmark tests and demonstrates the company’s growing clout in the field.

Manus AI, created by Chinese startup Butterfly Effect, on Tuesday revealed a strategic partnership with Alibaba. Developed by the Chinese start-up company Monica, Manus AI is a so-called general AI agent that claims it can deliver performance superior to that of OpenAI’s AI agent, DeepResearch.

Experts previously told CNBC that Alibaba has been making “significant strides” in advancing its AI cloud business. The company posted a sharp profit hike in the December quarter on the strength of its Cloud Intelligence unit and e-commerce segment. Earlier this year, Alibaba secured a major partnership with Apple Inc for AI on iPhones and now aims to take on OpenAI.

Alibaba shares in Hong Kong slumped over 2.5% to 131.5 Hong Kong dollars ($16.9) on Thursday.

CNBC’s Dylan Butts, Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.