Alibaba’s Qwen tech lead steps down after major AI push

Junyang Lin, a central technical leader on Alibaba’s Qwen team, announced his departure from the project on X (formerly Twitter) without providing a reason. His exit comes just after Alibaba unveiled its Qwen 3.5 series of open-weight small models, which have garnered attention for their performance rivaling those of leading U.S. AI developers. Colleagues and industry partners expressed shock and sadness at Lin’s departure, highlighting his crucial role in connecting Qwen with the global developer community and driving its advancements in open-source AI. While the circumstances surrounding his resignation remain unclear, some colleagues suggest it was not his choice. Alibaba has not yet commented on the reasons for Lin’s departure or the future leadership structure of the Qwen team.

(Source：TechCrunch)