Alibaba Commits $431M to Lunar New Year AI Promotion | News

Alibaba Group said it will invest 3 billion yuan (about $431 million) in promoting its Qwen artificial intelligence application during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, intensifying competition among China’s leading technology firms for user engagement in the AI chatbot market. The company announced the initiative on February 2, 2026, with the campaign set to begin on February 6, 2026, ahead of the nine-day national holiday period.

Alibaba’s statement indicated that the campaign will feature incentives tied to dining, drinks, entertainment and leisure, delivered through continuous distribution of “large red envelopes”, a widely recognized digital promotional format in China. The company did not specify whether these envelopes will consist of direct cash rewards or discount coupons redeemable across its ecosystem, which includes platforms such as Taobao.

The announced investment marks a significant escalation in China’s AI user-acquisition race. Domestic rivals Tencent and Baidu recently disclosed their own promotional budgets for similar holiday AI campaigns, with Tencent allocating 1 billion yuan toward its Yuanbao chatbot and Baidu committing 500 million yuan for its AI tools, making Alibaba’s pledge roughly three times larger.

Chinese technology companies have historically leveraged the Lunar New Year period, when vast numbers of people travel and spend extended time with family, to pursue rapid expansion of user bases. In 2015, Tencent famously used digital red envelopes on its WeChat platform to promote WeChat Pay, helping it gain ground against Alibaba’s Alipay in the mobile payments market.

Alibaba’s holiday campaign follows broader efforts by the company to enhance its AI offerings. In January 2026, industry reports noted that China had approved major technology firms, including Alibaba, to purchase advanced Nvidia H200 AI chips, part of a broader strategy to support domestic innovation despite ongoing global trade tensions. This development is seen as supportive of China’s push to strengthen its AI infrastructure and capabilities.

The contest for AI chatbot users has intensified recently, partly driven by advances from competitors such as DeepSeek, whose R1 model launch in January 2025 spurred heightened activity across the sector. Firms have responded with upgraded models and heightened marketing expenditures as they seek to differentiate their products in a crowded marketplace.

Alibaba’s promotional initiative arrives amid ongoing challenges in its broader business. Recent financial reporting highlighted pressures from slowing consumer growth and rising costs as the company continues to invest heavily in cloud computing and AI infrastructure, though detailed earnings outcomes tied to the Lunar New Year campaign have yet to be disclosed.

For the 2026 Lunar New Year period, Alibaba’s push highlights the strategic emphasis placed on generative AI engagement, with the extended holiday window providing a concentrated opportunity to attract users at scale. Other Chinese AI firms are also launching upgrades and incentive programs in the run-up to the holiday as competition for market share grows.