Core Insights - The article discusses the recent recruitment of AI expert Steven Hoi by Alibaba's Tongyi Lab, indicating a strategic shift towards foundational research in multimodal large models [2][4][7] - Hoi's extensive background in AI, including over 20 years of experience and significant academic contributions, positions him as a key asset for Alibaba in enhancing its AI capabilities [2][4] - The move reflects Alibaba's commitment to accelerating the development of multimodal AI technologies, which are crucial for the company's competitive positioning in the global AI landscape [7][10] Group 1: Steven Hoi's Background and Role - Steven Hoi has over 20 years of experience in AI and has published more than 300 academic papers, with over 50,000 citations, making him one of the top 1% AI scientists globally [2] - He previously served as Vice President at Salesforce, where he built the AI research ecosystem in Asia from the ground up [2][4] - Hoi joined Alibaba in February 2025 as Vice President and Chief Scientist of the Intelligent Information Business Group, focusing on multimodal foundational models and applications [4] Group 2: Strategic Implications for Alibaba - Hoi's transition to the Tongyi Lab team suggests a significant talent reallocation within Alibaba, emphasizing the importance of foundational research in AI [7] - Alibaba's Tongyi Lab is currently in a critical phase of "speed of iteration" and "multimodal development," necessitating top-tier talent like Hoi to drive innovation [7][10] - The company aims to enhance its competitive edge by rapidly iterating AI models and advancing from unimodal to multimodal capabilities, which is seen as an inevitable trend in the industry [7][10] Group 3: Challenges and Opportunities in Multimodal AI - Hoi highlighted several technical challenges in developing unified multimodal models, including the scarcity of models that support full multimodal interaction and the difficulty in balancing understanding and generation across different modalities [10] - He emphasized that the era of multimodal Agent AI is just beginning, with many technical hurdles to overcome before achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) [10] - The challenges present significant opportunities for growth and innovation within the multimodal AI sector, as the industry seeks to address these issues [10]

AI会重构用户入口、商业模式与产业分工吗？9月11日，2025Inclusion·外滩大会开幕式《破局与重构： 大模型落地产业进行时》产业圆桌中，蚂蚁集团CEO韩歆毅、小米集团手机部副总裁、可穿戴部总经理 张雷、金沙江创投主管合伙人朱啸虎围绕着这一热门产业话题展开对谈，三大领域领军者分别从应用、 硬件与投资视角给出关键判断。 AI时代超级入口的"变与不变" 从Open AI卷起的应用浪潮，到DeepSeek的异军突起，大模型普及也在产业内部掀起了一轮轮入口之 争"大模型是不是会吃掉所有软件"。面对这一问题，投资人朱啸虎认为低代码、无代码的软件肯定会被 AI替代，尤其是编辑类、协作类软件，"不是说不要了，是它的需求会降低，用户数减少10%的话，这 个影响是很巨大的，协同类软件未来市场还会在，但是会小很多"。 他也透露了面对AI产品，投资人关注的唯一指标就是用户留存。"从PC互联网到移动互联网到AI是同样 的，AI产品用户召回成本可能是移动互联网产品的10倍以上，留存好不好，才证明这些公司有没有后 续的发展潜力"，朱啸虎说。 "在AI领域，明年应用肯定会大爆发，下一个字节、下一个小红书今年应该已经成立，创业者应该 ...

Group 1 - Alibaba's AI To C business is reportedly planning large-scale recruitment, signaling its ambition to capture a share of the rapidly growing AI market, which is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2030 with an annual growth rate exceeding 35% [1][2] - The recruitment is driven by Alibaba's need to find new growth avenues as its e-commerce business growth stabilizes, with AI To C seen as a breakthrough opportunity to enhance product competitiveness through talent acquisition [2][4] - The job openings span advanced technology fields such as large language models, multimodal recognition, and AI hardware, indicating Alibaba's intention to create a comprehensive AI To C ecosystem that meets diverse user needs [3][4] Group 2 - The large-scale recruitment is a strategic move to build a talent barrier in a competitive AI landscape, with the recent hiring of top AI scientists aimed at forming a robust AI talent team to accelerate the application of cutting-edge research [4][5] - Challenges remain post-recruitment, including the integration of new talent into Alibaba's culture and ensuring effective collaboration among diverse backgrounds, as well as the need for products to gain user acceptance in a competitive market [4][5] - Alibaba's recruitment initiative reflects its serious commitment to the AI To C market, with future success dependent on strategic execution and market performance [5]

Core Insights - The article discusses the rapid evolution of generative AI, particularly focusing on Alibaba's Quark "AI Super Box" and its recent upgrade to "Deep Search," marking a significant advancement in AI applications [2][6][8]. Company Developments - Quark has launched the first "Deep Search" product in China, positioning itself as the first AI application to cater to over 200 million active users [3][4]. - The cumulative download of Quark has surpassed 370 million by 2024, indicating its substantial user base and strategic importance within Alibaba's AI To C (AI to Consumer) business [5][4]. - The new "AI Super Box" integrates various AI capabilities, transforming Quark into a comprehensive "AI Super Assistant" for users [10][20]. Product Features - The "Deep Search" feature allows for intelligent recognition of user intent, utilizing various models and agent modules to provide quick and accurate information [8][9]. - Quark's "High Search Intelligence" (高搜商) enables the AI to understand what to search for, where to search, and how to search, moving beyond traditional search paradigms [8][10]. - The implementation of a "transparent reasoning chain" technology allows users to trace the sources of information, enhancing trust and reliability, especially in sensitive fields like healthcare and law [18][20]. Industry Implications - The launch of Quark's "Deep Search" signifies the onset of the "AI Super Application" era, with Alibaba positioning itself as a leader in this space [6][21]. - The integration of AI into everyday tasks suggests a shift where users will delegate tasks directly to AI, rather than using traditional search tools [20][21]. - Alibaba's commitment to AI-native applications as a core investment direction indicates a strategic focus on enhancing its AI capabilities and ecosystem [21].