Alibaba launches Token Hub to consolidate AI divisions and accelerate enterprise monetization

Alibaba Token Hub consolidates scattered AI operations

Alibaba Group has launched the Alibaba Token Hub (ATH), an AI-focused business group that consolidates the company's fragmented artificial intelligence operations under a single organizational structure. CEO Eddie Wu will lead the new division directly, bringing together Tongyi Laboratory, the MaaS Business Line, Qwen, Wukong, and AI Innovation teams 1

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. The restructuring also places DingTalk, Alibaba's Slack-like collaboration app, and Quark-branded devices including smart glasses under the new umbrella 1

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. This Alibaba AI restructuring represents a strategic shift away from bundling AI with cloud computing services, instead separating AI operations to sharpen focus on monetizing AI capabilities 3

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The move comes as Alibaba grapples with questions about its AI strategy following the recent departure of Lin Junyang, the research lead for Qwen, marking the third senior Qwen executive to exit this year 2

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. The reorganization aims to quicken interaction between various teams that underpin Alibaba's broader effort, from researchers to product development and design 1

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Enterprise AI and token-based monetization model take center stage

The division's name directly references tokens—the units of computing that companies charge users—signaling Alibaba's clear emphasis on building AI work platforms for enterprises. "ATH is built around a single organizing mission: create tokens, deliver tokens, and apply tokens," Wu stated in an internal memo 1

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. This token-based monetization model centers on AI agents and digital assistants that operate continuously, executing tasks such as managing emails, scheduling, document editing, and research, leading to significantly higher token consumption 3

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Alibaba plans to release a dedicated agentic AI service for companies in the near term, banking on national enthusiasm around artificial intelligence assistants like OpenClaw that help users perform actual tasks 1

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. The company may announce the new AI agent product, based on its flagship Qwen model and tailor-made for enterprises, as soon as this week. The company plans to gradually integrate other services with the agent, including online shopping site Taobao and fintech platform Alipay 1

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. The tool was developed by the team that runs DingTalk 1

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Profitability challenges in the Chinese AI market persist

Domestic AI aspirants from Alibaba to MiniMax Group Inc. are finding it harder than Western rivals such as OpenAI to translate AI advances into profitability, given Chinese consumers' reluctance to pay for software subscriptions 1

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. Most Chinese models are open-source and free to download, creating a wide disparity in revenue between the nation's leading developers and US peers such as Anthropic PBC 1

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. Top models like DeepSeek, Qwen and Zhipu's ChatGLM cost up to 10 to 20 times less than U.S. counterparts as Chinese players use cost-effectiveness to shore up global market share 2

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With the latest restructuring, Alibaba is likely diverting more resources back to its enterprise-facing businesses after its consumer-facing Qwen app lagged behind competitor ByteDance Ltd.'s Doubao, despite spending billions of yuan in "red packet" consumer promotions during last month's Lunar New Year holiday 1

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. The company also launched Wukong, a platform that brings together multiple AI agents under a single, unified interface, positioning itself to capture opportunities in the agent economy 3

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Strategic coordination across the AI ecosystem

Eddie Wu, one of Alibaba's original co-founders who has served as CEO of the group and the Alibaba Cloud unit since 2023, outlined a plan last year to build a full-stack of AI offerings, including hardware, and promised over $53 billion of investment in the emerging technology 1

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. In August 2025, Alibaba's cloud computing division earned 26% year-over-year revenue growth, driven in part by customers' increasing adoption of AI-related products. During that quarter, AI-related revenue accounted for over 20% of revenue from external customers as AI demand continued to grow rapidly 4

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Wu emphasized that he will lead ATH directly "with a mandate to drive strategic coordination across our AI businesses, embed AI deeply into how we work, and preserve the agility that lets us move fast" 2

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. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts suggest that Alibaba is set to deepen its agentic AI ecosystem across Taobao, Amap and Alipay through 2026, using Qwen to move users from intent to payment within a single conversation, potentially reducing funnel drop-off while lifting conversion and order frequency 1

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. This approach to AI innovation could transform how enterprises adopt digital assistants while addressing the ongoing challenge of building sustainable revenue streams in a price-competitive market where open-source models dominate.