Alibaba’s Quark business unit is developing a new AI initiative internally codenamed “Plan C,” according to Chinese tech media Sina Tech. The project is led by Quark’s core team with support from Alibaba’s Tongyi Lab and focuses on conversational AI products, with the first results expected soon.
Sources said “Plan C” has been under quiet development for months and represents a long-term effort tied to model breakthroughs. Internally, some interpret the “C” as standing for “Chat,” while others say it alludes to Pac-Man—a playful reference in Chinese to “eating beans,” hinting at a direct challenge to ByteDance’s chatbot Doubao (whose name literally means “bean bun”). [Sina Tech, in Chinese]
Related
