AI Capital Bureau, Shi Tao, June 11

This time, Alibaba has responded to cultural criticisms with unwavering determination.

On June 11, Alibaba officially announced a leadership reshuffle: Chen Hang (also known as Wuzhao), the founding CEO of DingTalk, stepped down, and Chen Yusen, born in 1992, assumed full leadership. With this appointment, the 34-year-old Chen Yusen becomes the youngest-ever CEO of a business unit at Alibaba Group, ushering DingTalk into a new era of AI-driven transformation.

Unlike most professional managers in the internet sector, Chen Yusen’s career reads like a legend: a former top-tier hacker who rose to prominence early, he started his own business at 22, sold his startup to Alibaba Cloud at 27, and now leads the trillion-dollar office productivity platform DingTalk at 34. His triple roles as a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur, and Alibaba executive reflect the company’s new strategic vision for intelligent office solutions.

Teenage Tech Enthusiast: A Top Hacker Making His Mark in Competitions

Chen Yusen’s journey in the internet industry began with cybersecurity competitions. Blessed with exceptional computing talent, he gained admission to Zhejiang University’s Chu Kochen Honor College without examination, majoring in computer science. During his university years, he broke free from traditional learning frameworks, immersing himself in cybersecurity attack and defense techniques and quickly emerging as a top domestic security enthusiast.

As a student, he excelled in global elite Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, founding Zhejiang University’s AAA team to compete internationally while joining the domestic benchmark hacker team ‘Blue Lotus.’ Led by Tsinghua students, this team became the first Chinese squad to reach the DEFCON CTF finals, cementing its industry status. Leveraging the team’s platform and his technical prowess, Chen Yusen won multiple awards at DEFCON CTF, Pwn2Own, and other top international competitions, establishing himself early in cybersecurity circles.

First Entrepreneurial Venture: Launching at 22 in Enterprise Security

In 2014, at 22, Chen Yusen graduated without joining a major corporation. Instead, he co-founded Changting Technology with core Blue Lotus members, entering the enterprise cybersecurity market. At the time, China’s B2B security sector was in its infancy, with most SMEs lacking digital risk control systems, creating vast market opportunities.

Building on the team’s technical depth, Changting focused on Web application protection, data security, and attack-defense drills, precisely addressing government and enterprise clients’ pain points. Within a year, the company secured 6 million RMB in angel funding from ZhenFund. In 2015, the 23-year-old Chen Yusen presented his self-developed SQL Chop technology at the global elite Black Hat security conference, becoming one of the few young Chinese entrepreneurs to achieve this honor.

With robust technology and a clear business model, Changting rapidly grew, serving thousands of clients including telecom operators, financial institutions, energy firms, internet giants, universities, and top-tier hospitals. Success followed: in 2017, Chen Yusen made Forbes China and Asia’s 30 Under 30 lists; in 2018, he appeared on Hurun’s 30×30 Innovators list, becoming a symbol of new-generation entrepreneurship.

Joining Alibaba: From Founder to Internal AI Pioneer

In 2019, facing industry shifts, the 27-year-old Chen Yusen made a pivotal decision: selling Changting Technology to Alibaba Cloud and integrating his team into Alibaba’s ecosystem. This transition from independent founder to corporate executive wasn’t a compromise but a strategic move to leverage Alibaba’s resources and expand technology applications.

Early at Alibaba Cloud, Chen Yusen focused on security and enterprise services, holding multiple core technical management roles while deeply understanding Alibaba’s B2B business logic, organizational structure, and client base. His extensive government and enterprise service experience gave him unique insights into digital transformation and office pain points beyond typical product managers’ perspectives.

As the AI Agent trend emerged, Chen Yusen, unwilling to stay confined to traditional roles, launched another internal venture. In early 2025, he built a team within Alibaba Cloud to develop the AI Agent product MuleRun, innovatively adopting a lightweight ‘fixed SOP + large model’ architecture to create an industry-wide intelligent work assistant. The product excelled post-launch, attracting 210,000 registered users in 10 days and serving government and enterprise clients across 43 countries at its peak, becoming Alibaba’s benchmark AI Agent offering. Concurrently, Chen Yusen was promoted to Vice President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, joining the ranks of Alibaba’s core young leadership.

AI Capital Bureau Perspective: Young Leader Takes Helm of DingTalk, Alibaba’s Strategic AI Office Bet

AI Capital Bureau views this leadership change as more than personnel reshuffling—it represents Alibaba’s strategic upgrade for the AI era. The original DingTalk, built by Chen Hang, became China’s dominant office tool through efficient collaboration and organizational management, establishing Alibaba’s B2B office market foundation. However, under AI-driven transformation waves, traditional collaboration tools face growth ceilings, requiring DingTalk to evolve from a ‘collaboration tool’ to an ‘intelligent office platform.’

Chen Yusen, combining technical expertise, entrepreneurial mindset, B2B service experience, and AI product commercialization skills, emerges as the ideal candidate. He understands both foundational technologies and government/enterprise clients’ needs while grasping AI Agent product monetization—perfectly matching DingTalk’s transformation requirements.

At this new starting point, the 34-year-old Chen Yusen holds DingTalk’s future but faces challenges: integrating MuleRun’s AI capabilities with DingTalk’s core functions like attendance, meetings, approvals, and collaboration; balancing legacy business maintenance with AI innovation growth; consolidating market leadership amid competition from Tencent’s WeCom and Feishu.

From competition hacker to entrepreneurial pioneer, from Alibaba tech executive to leader of a trillion-dollar product, Chen Yusen’s journey mirrors both a tech enthusiast’s dream pursuit and the internet industry’s evolutionary trends. The industry awaits whether this post-90s leader can guide DingTalk through intelligent transformation and reshape China’s AI office landscape.

AI Capital Bureau is a professional platform tracking capital market dynamics in artificial intelligence. We closely monitor financing, IPOs, M&As, and other capital operations of AI and embodied intelligence companies, analyzing industry and enterprise trends to provide valuable insights for market participants. We aim to bridge AI innovation and capital markets, helping Chinese hard tech firms realize value discovery and growth.

Risk Warning and Disclaimer: Markets carry risks; invest cautiously. This article does not constitute investment advice and should not guide practical operations. Trading risks are borne by the investor.