Author | Hao Xin

Editor | Wu Xianzhi

On March 13, Quark seized the spotlight.

Alibaba officially launched its flagship AI application, the revamped Quark, bidding farewell to traditional search and transforming into an All-in-One 'AI Super Box' to cater to users' diverse AI needs in work, study, and life.

Just three days before Quark's debut, Tongyi App, another offering from Alibaba's Intelligent Information Business Group, underwent a significant overhaul.

The buzz surrounding these two applications is strikingly different. Initially, after Tongyi App was spun off from Alibaba Cloud, the industry anticipated it would advance alongside Quark, becoming the 'twin guardians' of Alibaba's AI To C strategy. However, it now appears that Quark has been granted a notably higher strategic position than Tongyi.

Alibaba has clarified that the new Quark is built upon Alibaba Tongyi's reasoning and multimodal large models. In the future, the latest advancements in the Tongyi series of models will be promptly integrated into Quark. Previously, Tongyi App served as the 'showcase' for Tongyi's large models, but now Quark has directly taken that role.

Another detail is that after Tongyi App was spun off and merged into Alibaba's Intelligent Information Business Group, its products were, in principle, on par with Quark and under the unified leadership of Wu Jia. Notably, Wu Jia also serves as Quark's CEO externally.

As Quark 'rises,' Tongyi seems to be 'demoted,' revealing a clear trajectory.

The roots of this shift may be traced back to when Jack Ma visited Alibaba's Hangzhou campus shortly after DeepSeek's meteoric rise. According to leaked photos, Ma Yun specifically visited Area C of Alibaba's Xixi campus to greet staff in the AI To C business areas, such as Quark.

Quark's 'promotion'

Quark and its parent Innovation Business Group have always been viewed by the industry as the business with the 'least Alibaba flavor.'

2025 is destined to be a milestone in Quark's development history. Wu Jia stated, 'This upgraded version is merely the prototype of the new Quark. With continuous iteration and enhancement of future model capabilities, we aspire for the Quark AI Super Box to be akin to Doraemon's pocket, enabling users to enter the AI world here.'

'Entering the AI world' has emerged as a key phrase. Alibaba is banking on Quark to create a unified super entry point for traffic. Through the AI Super Box or various modal activation methods, users can access Alibaba's ecosystem of products and services.

Alibaba's choice of Quark is the culmination of careful deliberation. In the current wave of large models, major companies all have their contenders. ByteDance primarily promotes Doubao, Tencent has Yuanbao, and Baidu has Wenxiaoyan. On the same footing, Tongyi App would be a formidable competitor. However, the reality is that despite two waves of investment and DeepSeek dividends, Tongyi App's daily and monthly active users have not shown substantial improvement. DeepSeek marked a turning point; initially, Doubao led, followed by Yuanbao catching up, and Wenxiaoyan, after integrating DeepSeek, also witnessed an increase in traffic.

For Alibaba, which possesses both open-source and closed-source large models, integrating DeepSeek is not an option. Therefore, Tongyi App will inevitably remain tied to Qianwen. According to Photon Planet's understanding, Tongyi has also attempted an investment-driven strategy, but perhaps the results were unsatisfactory, failing to stir up significant commotion.

To breakthrough in the C-end market, Alibaba must either fully commit to Tongyi App and increase investment efforts or shift to a more promising candidate.

Quark's opportunity largely stems from its market accumulation.

Quark has disclosed a statistic: 200 million people use Quark, with post-00s young users accounting for over half. According to the January 2025 AIGC RANK China AI Application Rankings, Quark had an average daily active user count of 33.69 million, ranking first among China's AI applications.

These figures provide a robust defense against existing AI applications. When DeepSeek was at its peak, its daily active users barely surpassed 20 million, and Doubao, after a year of promotion, had less than 20 million daily active users. It is precisely because of this that, with Quark, Alibaba can reclaim its place at the table.

The strategic elevation is evident in the fact that the upgraded Quark has succeeded Tongyi as the entry point for users to experience the latest large models. Quark has consistently emphasized that its application utilizes self-developed models and is not directly tied to the Tongyi Qianwen large model.

Quark is also accelerating its expansion. It is reported that Quark has recruited a substantial number of AI large model annotation and review teams, to the extent that Area C of Xixi is nearly full. Simultaneously, Quark's Beijing office is also expanding.

Alibaba's Tough Battle in To C

Despite both being upgrades, Tongyi App and Quark have taken vastly different paths.

The revamped Tongyi has shed its informative and tool-like characteristics, targeting Doubao and presenting users with a unified and more intimate virtual image. If Tongyi takes the 'user-friendly' route, Quark is more inclined towards being a 'professional' and 'service' platform.

To date, Alibaba's AI To C strategy is gradually becoming clear: traffic and resources are being directed towards Quark, with a focus on making one product a success first; models support applications, and application feedback showcases the models' most advanced capabilities. Similarly, for AI applications, a differentiated approach is taken rather than cramming all functions into one popular application, while simultaneously conquering both the mobile and desktop markets.

Alibaba's decision to play the Quark card at this juncture can be seen as both a response to DeepSeek and an opportunity to reshape the market. Apart from Tencent and Baidu, which have embraced DeepSeek, other players seem to be in a state of retraction. ByteDance has lowered the priority of investing in Doubao's traffic and is focusing on intelligent upgrades. The story of Kimi was punctured by DeepSeek, slowing down investment flows and shifting focus to basic model research.

It remains uncertain whether Alibaba can turn the tide with Quark, but at least it now has a new To C narrative to share.

As Quark transitions from being a 'backup' to a 'mainstay,' the accompanying pressure will also intensify. According to its new positioning, it integrates AI dialogue, deep thinking, deep search, deep research, and deep execution into one, satisfying all user needs with a minimalist 'AI Super Box.'

Quark's previous core user base was primarily young people, and their needs were often prioritized in functional design and upgrades. For Quark, AI may represent a new opportunity to grow into a 'national-level' application. In the future, the user group served by Quark will further expand, with low thresholds and quick learning becoming crucial factors.

There is also the issue of current AI application functions being dispersed. Too many and too few functions are both extremes, meaning user needs cannot be fully met. The current solution is to guide usage through search and embedded Agent applications, but it still cannot fully integrate the process of a particular service, enabling users to enjoy a seamless usage experience.

This may lead AI applications in two directions: do users prefer small but refined functions, or large and comprehensive aggregations?

In the past, the industry had clear definitions for 'AI native,' 'shell wrapping,' 'AI search,' and 'AI assistant.'

After years in the background, Quark has stepped into the spotlight of Alibaba's AI era. Similarly, Baidu Wenku, once an aging business on the brink of retirement, has emerged as a new force in AI commercialization. All of these developments serve as a reminder not to hastily define and not to view new and old products through biased lenses.

To date, various applications have not fully leveraged AI functionality. There is still a long way to go in engineering and understanding users' new needs in the AI era. For future Super Apps, maintaining a dynamic and open mindset is essential.