Alibaba (BABA) Stock Jumps 5% as Qwen App Downloads Surge Past 10 Million

TLDR

• Alibaba’s Qwen app surpassed 10 million downloads within one week of its relaunch
• Alibaba shares jumped more than 5% in Hong Kong following the announcement
• The company unified its pre-existing iOS and Android apps under the Qwen banner this month
• Ant Group’s LingGuang AI assistant reached 1 million downloads in four days
• Alibaba plans to integrate shopping features across Taobao and other platforms into Qwen

Alibaba’s stock climbed more than 5% in Hong Kong trading Monday after the company revealed its Qwen AI app hit 10 million downloads. The milestone came just one week after the app’s relaunch.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA

The Chinese e-commerce company shared the download figures in a WeChat blog post. The numbers represent a strong start for Alibaba’s attempt to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the AI assistant market.

Alibaba recently renamed and updated its existing apps on iOS and Android platforms. The company brought these services together under the single Qwen brand name this month.

The download pace puts Qwen among the faster-growing AI apps in China. ChatGPT remains unavailable in the Chinese market.

Kenny Ng, a strategist at China Everbright Securities International, commented on the app’s performance. He said the ability to use Qwen to drive consumer business will affect Alibaba’s future valuation. The market sees this as a key step in comparing the company to OpenAI’s valuation.

Ant Group Joins the Race

Alibaba’s fintech partner Ant Group also made news over the weekend. The company launched its multimodal AI assistant called LingGuang last week. The app recorded more than 1 million downloads in its first four days.

Both launches show Alibaba’s push into AI-powered consumer services. The company operates under CEO Eddie Wu, who has positioned Alibaba as an AI-first business.

Integration Plans Take Shape

Alibaba plans to add agentic AI features to support online shopping in the coming months. These features will work across multiple platforms including Taobao, the company’s main marketplace.

The goal is to transform Qwen into a fully functioning AI agent. The company released a statement outlining its integration strategy.

Alibaba will face questions from investors about its AI strategy when it reports quarterly results on Tuesday.

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