Tech Brief (March 11): The Alibaba Engineer Behind Qwen Who Walked Away

Published: Mar. 11, 2026 11:37 a.m. GMT+8

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The Alibaba engineer behind Qwen who walked away

Lin Junyang, a technical lead behind turning Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Qwen into one of the world’s most popular open-source AI model series, has left the company in a sudden departure that rattled China’s AI sector and raised questions about talent retention inside one of the country’s biggest tech companies.

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Lin Junyang, the lead engineer behind Alibaba's Qwen AI, has abruptly left the company, raising concerns about talent retention.
Canada approved TikTok's investments after a national security review, requiring enhanced data protection for Canadians.
Tencent launched QClaw to connect OpenClaw AI with WeChat, while China's cybersecurity agency warned of OpenClaw security risks.

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Who’s Who

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Lin Junyang, a key technical lead behind Alibaba's Qwen, a popular open-source AI model series, has left the company. This departure has caused ripples in China's AI sector, raising concerns about talent retention within Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

TikTok: The Canadian government has completed a national security review of investments related to TikTok and decided to allow them to proceed after a comprehensive assessment. TikTok will implement enhanced protection measures for Canadian citizens' personal information using new security gateways and privacy-enhancing technologies. TikTok stated it looks forward to new investments and continued projects that support the Canadian creative and business ecosystem.

Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd. has introduced QClaw, a tool connecting their AI assistant, OpenClaw, to WeChat. This integration could enable users to remotely control OpenClaw via chat, potentially opening Tencent's valuable digital asset to an external AI agent. QClaw, built on the OpenClaw ecosystem, is an invitation-only tool designed for natural language task execution.

Xiaohongshu: Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform, is cracking down on AI-hosted accounts. It will strictly prohibit using AI to simulate real people, create inauthentic content, or engage in fake interactions. Users occasionally using AI for posts will face warnings and content distribution restrictions. Accounts entirely reliant on AI for registration, publishing, and interaction will be banned.

Honor: Honor has launched its new foldable smartphone, the Magic V6. This device is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, features LPDDR6 memory and UFS 4.1 flash storage, and offers up to a 7150 mAh battery. It has a 6.52-inch outer screen and a 7.95-inch inner screen, with prices starting at 8,999 yuan (about $1,300).

Qualcomm: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, built on a 3-nanometer process, powers Honor's new Magic V6 foldable smartphone. This highlights Qualcomm's role as a key supplier of advanced mobile processors for major smartphone manufacturers.

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