Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Qwen app has surpassed 10 million downloads within a week of its relaunch, a milestone first highlighted in reporting from Bloomberg and one that signals rising momentum behind China’s push to build homegrown rivals to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The surge came immediately after Alibaba rolled out a full rebranding of its earlier mobile apps on iOS and Android, consolidating them under the Qwen name to showcase its new AI-first direction.
Qwen’s rapid rise reflects an accelerating trend in artificial intelligence adoption worldwide, with the app now joining the ranks of the fastest-growing AI products. ChatGPT set the early benchmark when it became the quickest service to reach 100 million users, and despite Meta’s Threads benefiting from its social-media ecosystem, Alibaba’s Qwen is emerging as one of the most explosive debuts in China, where ChatGPT itself is unavailable. Investor enthusiasm quickly followed: Alibaba’s shares jumped more than 5% in Hong Kong after the company disclosed the download figures in a WeChat blog post.
Market analysts say the early momentum could have long-term implications for Alibaba’s valuation. Kenny Ng at China Everbright Securities International noted that Qwen’s ability to strengthen Alibaba’s consumer-facing business will be critical in determining how the market values the company, with many investors watching closely to see how Alibaba measures up against OpenAI in the evolving AI landscape.
The strong early response also mirrors the reception to Ant Group’s newly launched multimodal AI assistant LingGuang, which surpassed one million downloads in its first four days. Together, the two debuts highlight escalating competition among China’s leading tech firms as they race to deliver agentic AI features to the country’s massive consumer base.
Alibaba has outlined an ambitious roadmap for Qwen in the months ahead. The company plans to integrate advanced AI capabilities into its key platforms, including Taobao, while steadily transforming Qwen into a full AI agent capable of assisting with online shopping and everyday tasks. Under CEO Eddie Wu’s leadership, Alibaba has repositioned itself as an AI-first enterprise, a shift that will be scrutinized by investors when the company releases quarterly earnings this week.
According to an Alibaba statement, the company intends to embed core lifestyle and productivity services — such as digital maps, food delivery, travel reservations, office tools, e-commerce functions, educational resources, and health guidance — directly into the Qwen app as part of a comprehensive user ecosystem.
