Alibaba commits 3 billion yuan to Qwen app Spring Festival push

Alibaba pledged 3 billion yuan (about $432 million) to promote its Qwen chatbot during the Lunar New Year holiday, with the campaign starting February 6. The money goes to user acquisition through free orders and cash rewards, aimed at building regular AI-assisted shopping on Alibaba's platforms. For traders, it signals that the AI app push is costing real money in the same quarter that commerce margins are under pressure.

• Pledge: 3 billion yuan, about $432 million
• Campaign start: February 6, 2026
• Mechanics: free orders and cash rewards to draw new users
• Rivals: Tencent pledged 1 billion yuan and Baidu 500 million yuan