(Recasts, adds more details from letter, background from paragraph 2)
By Che Pan and Laurie Chen
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) said on Thursday it would set up a new task force to accelerate foundation model development, following the resignation of its Qwen AI division head Lin Junyang.
The task force will be coordinated by Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu, Group Chief Technology Officer Wu Zeming, and Alibaba Cloud CTO Zhou Jingren, who will mobilise group-wide resources for the initiative, the company said in a letter to staff.
Zhou will continue to lead Tongyi Laboratory, Alibaba’s AI research arm, and oversee its ongoing projects, according to the letter.
The announcement came a day after Lin posted on X that he was stepping down from his role at Qwen, the third senior Qwen executive to leave this year. In the staff letter, which confirmed Lin’s departure, Alibaba pledged to channel additional resources toward the company’s AI development efforts.

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Alibaba Group is establishing a new task force to enhance its AI development following the resignation of Lin Junyang, head of its Qwen AI division. The task force will be led by CEO Eddie Wu, CTO Wu Zeming, and Alibaba Cloud CTO Zhou Jingren, who will allocate resources for the initiative. Zhou will also continue to lead the Tongyi Laboratory. This announcement follows Lin's exit, marking the third senior departure from Qwen this year, with Alibaba committing to bolster its AI efforts.

- Alibaba Group announced the establishment of a new task force aimed at accelerating foundation model development following the resignation of Qwen AI division head Lin Junyang.  
- The task force will be led by CEO Eddie Wu, CTO Wu Zeming, and Alibaba Cloud CTO Zhou Jingren, who will allocate resources for the initiative.  
- Lin’s resignation marks the third high-profile exit from the Qwen division this year, prompting Alibaba to enhance its commitment to AI development.

Alibaba forms task force to boost AI development after Qwen chief's exit