--- title: "Alibaba’s Qwen tech lead steps down after major AI push" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/277691925.md" description: "Alibaba's Qwen AI project faces a setback as Junyang Lin, a key technical leader, steps down just after the launch of the Qwen 3.5 models. His departure has sparked strong reactions from colleagues and industry partners, highlighting his central role in the project. The Qwen family of models has gained prominence in China, competing with major U.S. AI developers. The reasons for Lin's exit remain unclear, and Alibaba has not commented on the situation or the Qwen team's leadership structure." datetime: "2026-03-03T23:18:16.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/277691925.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277691925.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/277691925.md) --- > Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/277691925.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/277691925.md) # Alibaba’s Qwen tech lead steps down after major AI push Alibaba’s Qwen AI project has lost one of its most visible technical leaders just a day after the Chinese tech giant unveiled its new Qwen 3.5 open-weight small models. Junyang Lin, a central technical leader on Alibaba’s Qwen team, said in a post on X on Tuesday that he was “stepping down” from the project, without elaborating. He joined Alibaba in July 2019 and became part of the Qwen team in April 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. The abrupt departure, which drew strong reactions from colleagues and industry partners, comes as global competition among AI developers intensifies and companies race to build models rivaling those from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Alibaba’s Qwen family of models has emerged as one of China’s most prominent open-weight AI efforts, with recent releases posting benchmark results that often rival systems from leading U.S. developers. The Chinese tech giant introduced the model in April 2023 and opened it to public use that September after receiving regulatory clearance. Alibaba introduced its Qwen 3.5 Small Model series on Monday, with four models spanning 0.8B, 2B, 4B, and 9B parameters. The systems, the company said, are native multimodal models designed for uses ranging from on-device AI deployment to lightweight agents. The launch drew attention from figures in the AI community, including Elon Musk, who wrote on X that the models showed “impressive intelligence density.” Lin’s departure came just as the Qwen team was pushing ahead with new releases, prompting unusually strong reactions from colleagues and partners who described his role in the project as central. Wenting Zhao, a research scientist on the Qwen team, described Lin’s departure as “the end of an era,” thanking him in a post on X for helping drive the project’s advances in open-source AI and engineering. Yuchen Jin, chief technology officer of AI infrastructure startup Hyperbolic, said Lin helped connect Qwen with the global developer community, recalling late-night collaboration with the team during model launches. Tiezhen Wang, head of APAC ecosystem at Hugging Face, also described Lin’s departure as “an immense loss” for the Qwen project. Techcrunch event San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 The circumstances surrounding Lin’s departure remain unclear. Lin did not respond to a request for comment. Chen Cheng, a contributor to the Qwen project, wrote that he was “heartbroken” by the news. In his post on X, Cheng appeared to be addressing Lin directly, writing “I know leaving wasn’t your choice” and said the team had been working together on model launches only hours earlier. Binyuan Hui, another member of the Qwen team, has updated his X profile to describe himself as “formerly MTS @Alibaba\_Qwen.” However, it is not immediately clear whether he had left the company or when the change was made. Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons for the move or on the leadership structure of the Qwen team. ### Related Stocks - [Tianhong CSI Computer Theme ETF (159998.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159998.CN.md) - [Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF (PGJ.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PGJ.US.md) - [E Fund CSI HK Connect Internet ETF (513040.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/513040.CN.md) - [KraneShares 2x Long BABA Daily ETF (KBAB.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KBAB.US.md) - [Hwabao CSI HK Equities Internet ETF (513770.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/513770.CN.md) - [KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KWEB.US.md) - [Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BABA.US.md) - [Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3X ETF (YINN.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/YINN.US.md) - [Yinhua MSCI China A ETF (512380.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/512380.CN.md) - [Guotai MSCI China A ESG General ETF (159621.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159621.CN.md) - [GraniteShares 2x Long BABA Daily ETF (BABX.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BABX.US.md) - [BABA-W (09988.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09988.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Head of Alibaba's Qwen AI division resigns](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277711975.md) - [Alibaba Slashes Prices To Own The AI Coding Market](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277186154.md) - [Alibaba Unifies AI Brand, Goes All-In On 'Qwen'](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277485148.md) - [Alibaba to launch new smart glasses powered by Qwen AI assistant at MWC](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277327190.md) - [Zelos achieves RMB 10 billion valuation after new fundraise and Cainiao fleet merger](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276860768.md)