Alibaba

Reports indicate that Cai Jingxian (“Duolong”), a highly respected Alibaba engineer and known as the “Code God,” has left the company. Cai, Taobao’s first programmer who joined Alibaba in 2000, was a core engineer responsible for building Taobao’s core transaction and forum systems. He became an Alibaba partner in 2014, recognized for his significant contributions to Taobao. Alibaba’s 2023 report confirms Cai is no longer a partner, fueling speculation about his departure and its potential impact on Alibaba’s technology leadership.

Alibaba’s 88VIP program now offers a discounted Hema X Gold membership (¥88/$12 USD) to its subscribers, a significant reduction from the usual ¥258 ($36 USD). Existing Hema members can also leverage this benefit and re-enroll. This move, part of 88VIP’s 7th-anniversary revamp, includes new perks like preferential delivery, travel benefits, and discounted tickets. Hema saw a doubling of X Gold memberships after integrating with 88VIP. The enhanced program boasts over 20 benefits, aiming to boost customer loyalty within Alibaba’s ecosystem.

Alibaba’s 88VIP membership program is expanding its perks without raising prices, adding over 10 new exclusive benefits. The upgrade combines features from previous programs, offering complimentary Hema X membership, prioritized Ele.me deliveries, Feizhu perks, movie ticket discounts, and Gaode ride-hailing vouchers. This builds upon previous enhancements and brings the total number of benefits to over 20, covering dining, entertainment, travel, and daily life. With over 50 million members, 88VIP is influential in Chinese consumer spending.

IDC’s “AI Search Product Assessment, 2025” evaluates general-purpose search products based on user data, product performance, and technological capabilities. Alibaba’s Quark application excelled in product performance, achieving a score of 4.8 out of 5. This performance surpassed Baidu, positioning Quark as a leader in this key dimension according to the IDC report. The assessment underscores Quark’s strong capabilities.

At WAIC 2025, Alibaba’s Quark showcased its “AI Super App” and a range of AI features, including AI Writing, Image Generation, and a Deep Research tool capable of generating complex reports. The Quark AI Glasses, integrating the Tongyi Qianwen model, also drew significant attention. Notably, Quark’s AI Camera and “Chief Physician-Level AI Doctor” integrated into its AI search proved popular, highlighting Quark’s versatility in addressing diverse user needs from work to healthcare.

China’s on-demand delivery market is experiencing intense competition as Meituan, Fliggy (Alibaba), and JD.com engage in a subsidy war. This weekend saw a surge in promotional offers, benefiting consumers seeking immediate delivery services. The players are vying for market share by attracting users with heavily discounted prices and incentives. The long-term impact of this subsidy battle on the on-demand delivery landscape remains to be seen.

China’s food delivery platforms, Meituan and Alibaba’s Taobao, launched aggressive subsidies for coffee and bubble tea, creating online buzz with discounted and lottery-based free offers. This fueled intense demand, significantly boosting order volumes and delivery rider earnings (some exceeding $96/day), though raising concerns about rider welfare. Analysts see the subsidies as a strategic “online-offline fusion” push during peak summer, aiming to drive tens of billions in consumer spending across urban economies via estimated $7 billion in platform incentives.

Alibaba and Meituan ignited a fierce food delivery price war with deep discounts, driving massive user traffic and causing temporary outages for Meituan. Goldman Sachs projects this competition to peak in September, potentially leading to significant losses for major players but a strategic gain in user engagement for cross-selling. Pinduoduo is positioned as an opportunistic winner by abstaining from the promotion war.

Wang Shuai, former Alibaba PR executive and honorary partner, is rumored to be returning as a consultant, potentially advising on Taobao Flash Sales. His social media activity and comments suggest a renewed engagement with the e-commerce giant he’s been associated with for twenty years, where he also serves as Vice Chairman of Alibaba Public Welfare.

Research suggesting Huawei’s Pangu large model shares significant parameter similarity with Alibaba’s Qwen, sparking plagiarism allegations. Huawei’s Pangu team denies this, citing different training hardware and adherence to open-source licenses for shared components. While some code within Pangu bears Qwen’s copyright, it’s attributed to proper utilization of open-source licenses rather than outright plagiarism. The original research report has been removed pending peer review.