Alipay Launches 10 Million RMB Annual Fund to Encourage AI Agent Creation
Alipay announced the 'Agent Emergence Award,' establishing a 10 million RMB annual development fund with a grand prize of 1 million RMB to incentivize AI agent creation. Participants do not need programming experience and can use prompt-based VibeCoding tools or no-code platforms like Qmuse to build and submit applications. By lowering the technical barrier to entry, Alipay aims to crowdsource practical AI applications across lifestyle and merchant service scenarios. Top-performing agents will gain the opportunity to integrate directly into Alipay's AI assistant, reaching its user base of over 1 billion people. The contest runs quarterly shortlists offering 5,000 RMB stage rewards alongside a 1 million RMB grand prize scheduled for announcement in Q4 2027. Non-developer users can also participate by submitting feature requests, with selected 'Golden Ideas' earning 2,000 RMB cash prizes.
## BACKGROUND
AI agents are autonomous programs powered by large language models that can execute complex tasks on behalf of users. The competition explicitly highlights 'vibe coding,' a software development approach where non-programmers build applications primarily by instructing AI models using natural language prompts.