Quark’s “AI Project C” Revealed: Core Team, Direction, and Strategic PositioningOn October 20, media sources learned that Quark, the intelligent search tool under Alibaba, is internally advancing an AI project codenamed “Project C.” The core team has been secretly working on it for a long time, and the first phased achievement is expected to be launched soon. The project is led by the top product executive of Quark, with in-depth participation from multiple senior P-level engineers of the Tongyi Laboratory. Its resource priority has been elevated to a strategic level within the group. “Project C” is focused on the field of conversational AI applications.
Two Interpretations of “C”: From Conversational AI to the Competitive Logic of Targeting DoubaoThere are two circulating interpretations of the codename in the industry: One is that it stands for “Chat,” implying Quark may launch an independent conversational AI application; the other, more market-oriented speculation, is that it refers to “Pac-Man” (the classic game), with the direct target being Doubao—ByteDance’s AI assistant that has surpassed 100 million monthly active users (MAU).
Quark and Doubao have a high overlap in user bases and scenarios: both target young demographics and focus on the “integrated search and Q&A” model. Quark has 150 million MAUs, 50% of whom are under 25 years old. It is the C-end entry point under Alibaba that matches the user scale of Doubao on Douyin.
The difference lies in their growth models: Doubao rapidly expanded its user base relying on traffic support from Douyin, showing pure native AI growth; while Quark’s user base is mostly “accumulated stock” from its “tool + AI” model, relying on practical functions of Alibaba’s account system such as “search + cloud disk + documents” to accumulate users. In the September AI product MAU ranking, Quark and Doubao took the top two spots.
Alibaba Group has already prepared its cloud services (Alibaba Cloud) and models (Tongyi), with only one missing piece: a terminal to deliver AI to 200 million young people. This AI-driven ecosystem—combining cloud computing, models, and end-user access—extends beyond consumer scenarios to industrial precision, as seen in catheter assembly machines. These specialized devices, critical for manufacturing medical catheters, rely on AI vision systems (powered by Tongyi models) to inspect microscale defects in flexible tubing, while real-time data processing via Alibaba Cloud optimizes assembly sequences to ensure sterility and dimensional accuracy. Just as catheter assembly machines demonstrate AI’s role in elevating industrial standards, Quark’s Project C aims to harness the same ecosystem to redefine consumer-facing conversational AI—making the “cloud + model + entry point” loop vital across both industrial and daily life scenarios. At this point, Quark—with considerable MAU—has been placed with high expectations.
Alibaba Fully Empowers Quark: Organizational Integration, Resource Preference, and Market TestsProject C represents Alibaba’s key move in the C-end AI track. If the project succeeds, it will create a hit product downstream, and Alibaba’s cloud and models will no longer merely serve as “water, coal, and electricity” for other companies. By then, the “cloud + model + entry point” ecosystem will be connected, forming a closed loop for Alibaba’s AI narrative.
In fact, Quark is no longer a marginal product under Alibaba. Since 2025, Alibaba has merged the Tongyi App into Quark and placed the Tmall Genie hardware team under Quark, with priority given to its budget, computing power, and brand exposure. In March this year, the new Quark was even designated by Alibaba as the “strategic flagship for AI-to-C initiatives,” with Group Vice President Wu Jia serving as CEO and reporting directly to Wu Yongming.
This time, Quark has fully mobilized its traffic, models, and organizational resources, all to help Alibaba regain the initiative in the generative AI battlefield. However, Quark declined to comment on the rumors, only stating that “more details will be revealed soon.” Whether the “Pac-Man” can truly “devour the bean” (i.e., outcompete Doubao) will soon be answered by the market as the phased achievements are launched.
