Multiple core members of Alibaba's Qwen AI team have resigned, and Zhipu AI's founder is openly trying to poach them.
According to Chinese media outlet LatePost, Lin Junyang, the technical lead for Alibaba's Qwen large language model, formally submitted his resignation on the afternoon of March 3. Early the next morning, he posted on X (formerly Twitter): "me stepping down. bye my beloved qwen." Fellow team member Kaixin Li also announced their departure the same day.
Almost immediately, Zhipu AI founder and chief scientist Tang Jie responded to both on X. To Lin, he replied: "cool. start a new journey." To Li, his message was equally pointed.
The public recruitment pitch underscores the fierce talent war in China's AI industry, where top researchers are increasingly jumping between tech giants and well-funded startups.