Alibaba acquired two Thousand Questions AI domain names. What is Alibaba's intention in frequently deploying AI domain names?

Recently, news surfaced that Alibaba has acquired two key domain names: Qianwen.ai and Qianwenai.com. This news has been confirmed by publicly available information. These two domain names are highly compatible with Alibaba's core AI brand "Qianwen" (Qwen/Tongyi Qianwen), further solidifying its brand image.

"Qianwen" is the Chinese brand name for Alibaba Cloud's self-developed large-scale AI model family. In 2025, Alibaba officially unified the general term for AI as "Qianwen Large-Scale Model," while retaining the English name Qwen. The Qianwen App has become the flagship entry point for C-end users.

Previously, the official website used qianwen.com. This acquisition of the .ai and .com variants facilitates direct access to the AI ​​assistant for users while avoiding the risk of domain name squatting.

This is not an isolated case. Over the past two years, Alibaba has been frequently active in its AI domain name strategy, earning the title of "domain name harvester." The following are some recent highlights:

Qwen.ai: Officially acquired by Alibaba in February 2025. This domain name directly corresponds to the Qwen brand. The acquisition strengthens the international user access point and is launched simultaneously with Alibaba Cloud's AI hardware investment plan, considered an important strategy for brand protection and traffic acquisition.

QwenChat.com: Purchased from the secondary market in February 2025 for $30,000 (approximately RMB 218,000). "Qwen+Chat" precisely points to the chatbot function. After the acquisition, Alibaba is highly likely to use it for the Qianwen App or related products.

tongyi.ai: Acquired in August 2024 and officially launched that same year, serving as the official website for Tongyi AI products. This marked a significant step in Alibaba's unified AI strategy transition from "Tongyi" to "Qianwen".

Other related actions: Alibaba also registered a large number of qwen/qianwen variant domain names through Alibaba Cloud Wanwang.

Since 2023, with the open-sourcing and rapid iteration of the Qwen series models, Alibaba has placed increasing emphasis on protecting its AI domain names. From the early Tongyi to the current Qianwen, domain names have become infrastructure-level assets. From Qianwen to Tongyi, from the main brand to product variants, Alibaba has built a complete AI domain name matrix.

Alibaba's AI Domain Name Recent Years

Why is Alibaba so heavily investing in AI domain names? On one hand, the AI ​​field is fiercely competitive, with Baidu, ByteDance, Tencent, and others vying for C-end entry points. High-quality short domain names are a crucial moat for traffic and brand recognition.

On the other hand, the .ai suffix is ​​becoming a global AI identifier. Alibaba's strategy both prevents domain name squatting and facilitates global deployment. In 2025, Alibaba announced an investment of over 380 billion yuan over the next three years in cloud and AI hardware, and domain name acquisitions are a "preliminary battle" in this strategy.

Industry analysts believe that Alibaba's move reflects a "major company's domain name philosophy": not seeking high prices, but rather accuracy and comprehensiveness. Similar to its early investments in alipay.com and tmall.com, this strategy is now extending to the AI ​​field.

With the launch of hardware products such as Qianwen Glasses and Quark AI, these domain names may directly redirect to App, webpage, or intelligent agent entry points in the future, helping Alibaba leap from a "cloud + big model" to an "AI super application" ecosystem.

Overall, Alibaba's AI domain name strategy has formed a double-insurance matrix of "qianwen/Qwen + general meanings". In the future, as model capabilities iterate and consumer penetration increases, the value of these domain names will become even more apparent.

In the AI ​​era, domain names are no longer just "digital address cards," but strategic entry points. Alibaba's move once again proves that, in addition to technological leadership, brand asset development is equally crucial.