88cha is a free AI enterprise information query platform launched by Alibaba, covering 200 million+ domestic enterprise data. It supports natural language questions to obtain panoramic data such as industrial and commercial information, ownership structure, operating risks, bidding and tendering, and can generate enterprise research reports with one click. Backed by Alibaba big data and DeepSeek/Tongyi Qianwen large model.

88Cha: Alibaba’s free AI enterprise information query platform

Core parameters and statistics

88cha is a free AI enterprise information query platform launched by Alibaba's 1688 platform, positioned as the "commercial version of Tianyancha". The core difference between it and traditional enterprise information query tools is that complex filtering forms are replaced by natural language AI interaction, and users can obtain structured enterprise information by "asking questions" directly. The platform covers public business data of more than 200 million domestic companies, and the data dimensions cover all elements such as industrial and commercial registration, equity structure, operating risks, bidding, intellectual property, and financing history.

Projects	Public Information
Product positioning	Free AI enterprise information query and business decision-making platform
Development subject	Hangzhou Babacha Information Technology Co., Ltd. (under Alibaba)
Core Competencies	AI enterprise search AI in-depth research, enterprise background investigation, risk identification, bidding inquiry, intellectual property inquiry
Data coverage	200 million+ domestic enterprises
Underlying model	Tongyi Qianwen + DeepSeek-R1
Access Portal	Web, Alipay Mini Program, WeChat Mini Program 1688AI App
Pricing model	Totally free
Place of Belonging	CN
Supported Platforms	Web, Android, iOS

Brief review in one sentence: It is not another chat robot, but an offensive product that uses AI to redo enterprise information query - making commercial data originally hidden behind paywalls available for free in the form of natural language dialogue.

User and market recognition

88cha’s entry into the market came at a changing point in the enterprise information query market. Traditional leading players Tianyancha and Qichacha have established stable paid membership systems after years of operation, but C-end users have always been resistant to "paying to check a company". 88cha takes "completely free + AI-driven" as its dual entry point, directly dismantling the two thresholds of traditional tools.

Market Signal: According to AIBase report (2025-12), 88cha is preparing for the App version after the web version is launched, marking Alibaba’s official entry into the enterprise information query track as an independent product. Relying on the existing B-end user base of the 1688 platform and the lightweight distribution capabilities of Alipay and WeChat mini programs, the initial customer acquisition cost of 88cha is significantly lower than that of traditional competing products.

B-side penetration scenario: Buyers and sellers in the 1688 platform need to verify each other's qualifications before trading. This is the most natural implementation scenario for 88cha - supplier qualification review, source factory identification, and counterparty risk investigation, all can be directly embedded in 1688's transaction link.

Third-party evaluation: Multiple AI tool navigation sites (NavCN, AI tool set AIG123, etc.) have included it as the first recommended tool for "free enterprise query", and Zupu Technology's in-depth evaluation has positioned it as "Enterprise Checkup".

Cost advantage

The cost structure of 88cha is fundamentally different from traditional enterprise information query tools, and it deserves to be dismantled in layers:

C client/individual user: completely free, zero threshold. Compared with Tianyancha (basic membership ¥120/year, VIP ¥360/year) and Qichacha (VIP starting from ¥198/year), 88cha has directly removed the paywall - core functions such as corporate information query, equity penetration, and risk warning AI in-depth analysis are all open for unlimited times. This is a real cost reduction for scenarios such as job hunting, small business owners investigating partners, and individual investors doing preliminary due diligence.

API/Developer: Undisclosed standalone API pricing. However, the underlying data capabilities of 88cha are exported through the 1688 ecosystem. If developers need batch enterprise data interfaces, it is recommended to pay attention to the Alibaba Cloud enterprise service market at the current stage (for example, 88cha-free enterprise query has been put on the Alibaba Cloud market).

Enterprise/Institution: The enterprise version plan is currently undisclosed. For institutional users who need batch exports and batch calls to customized report APIs, 88cha’s current functional boundaries may not be enough. Enterprises in need of such capabilities must still evaluate Tianyancha/Qichacha’s enterprise API solutions (usually billed based on the number of queries, with annual fees ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan).

Hidden costs: Behind the "free" of 88cha is Alibaba's strategic investment in AI to B - it is essentially a data portal that attracts users into the Alibaba enterprise service ecosystem through free queries, and then achieves commercial cooperation in supply chain finance 1688 transactions, Sesame Credit, etc. What users pay is not money, but the contribution of data browsing behavior to Alibaba’s business portrait.

Main functions

88cha's capabilities are designed around "using AI to lower the threshold for obtaining business information", and its core functions can be classified into eight categories:

• Natural Language AI Query: Ask questions in everyday language in the search box (such as "What legal proceedings has this company had in the past three years?" "Who are its main competitors?"). AI automatically understands the intent, integrates multi-dimensional data and gives structured conclusions instead of traditional keyword matching lists.
• AI Enterprise Back Investigation: Generate a panoramic back investigation report of the target enterprise with one click, covering industrial and commercial information, operating status, legal risks, equity structure, etc. The format is structured and can be directly used for internal approval or cooperation decision-making reference.
• DeepSeek in-depth research: Access the DeepSeek-R1 model to support in-depth analysis of enterprises - technical strength assessment, market competitiveness analysis, industry status analysis, and even the generation of complete industry research reports. This capability is rare among similar free tools.
• Find the source factory: Make in-depth use of 1688 supply chain data to identify first-hand manufacturers with real production capabilities and help buyers skip middlemen. This is the differentiated capability of 88cha compared to Tianyancha/Qichacha - it not only checks "whether the company has any problems", but also "who can supply the goods".
• Bidding Query: Covers nationwide bidding announcements, bid winning results, and advance business opportunity retrieval, suitable for business development and competitive product monitoring scenarios.
• Multi-dimensional risk identification: Integrate multi-dimensional risk signals such as corporate breach of trust records, operating abnormalities, legal proceedings, administrative penalties, etc. to help users quickly identify potential pitfalls before cooperation.
• Intellectual Property Query: Free query of the company's patent, trademark, and copyright layout, suitable for IP due diligence before technical cooperation.
• Multi-dimensional change tracking: Sort out the company's industrial and commercial change records and core executive changes according to the timeline to help judge the stability of corporate governance.

Expert View: These functions are not listed in isolation. "AI query" and "in-depth research" form a shallow/deep connection for information acquisition - simple questions are answered in seconds, and complex questions enter a deep reasoning mode; "Find the source factory" and "Risk Identification" form a pre-transaction verification link - first find the supplier, and then check whether it is reliable; "Tendering" and "Change Multi-dimensional Tracking" serve continuous monitoring scenarios. This synergy between functions is the key to pushing 88cha from a "company checking tool" to a "business decision-making assistance platform".

Model and version evolution

The version evolution of 88cha reflects a clear path from web verification to mobility to AI in-depth:

Version	Time	Changes
Web first version (v0.1)	~2025-07	The first batch of basic functions such as enterprise industrial and commercial information query, business risk identification, etc., accessed through 88cha.com
App 1.0 (v1.0)	~2025-12	The mobile app is officially launched, supporting corporate information query, equity penetration, and risk warning, and the entrance is expanded to Alipay/WeChat mini program
App 2.0 (v1.2)	~2026-06	Integrate DeepSeek-R1 in-depth research capabilities, add AI business measurement, slow thinking mode, and bidding special search

Note: The above dates are based on public reports and third-party navigation site information. The specific version number and release date are subject to official release information.

Model support: 88cha uses Tongyi Qianwen as the base model to process natural language understanding and generation, and is connected to DeepSeek-R1 to enhance deep reasoning capabilities (such as corporate research report generation, business growth forecasting). This model combination of "universal base + professional reasoning" is the first of its kind in enterprise query products.

Technical advantages

88cha's technical competitiveness comes from the three-layer combination of "data + AI + scenario", rather than the ability of a single model to crush:

Data layer: Different from Tianyancha and Qichacha, which mainly rely on industrial and commercial public data, 88cha additionally integrates the supply chain transaction data of the 1688 platform and the commercial credit data of Sesame Credit. This means that it can not only answer "how long has this company been registered", but also partially answer "how active is this company's transactions within the Alibaba ecosystem" - this is a data barrier that competing products cannot copy.

AI layer: Natural language interaction is not a simple dialogue model wrapper. 88cha's AI query needs to complete the complete link of "intent understanding → multi-data source retrieval → information integration → structured output", which relies on Tongyi Qianwen's semantic understanding and DeepSeek-R1's reasoning capabilities. Traditional tools require users to manually sift through multiple tabs to piece together the information, but 88Check can complete it in one conversation.

Scenario layer: Functional design is directly embedded in the business decision-making process - checking the company → checking risks → checking sources → checking business opportunities is a coherent decision-making link, rather than scattered information query points. This scenario-based design reduces the user's conversion cost from "obtaining information" to "making judgment".

How to use

88cha’s multi-terminal coverage allows users with different usage habits to find the most convenient entrance:

How to use	Entrance	Suitable for scenes	Features
Web version	88cha.com	In-depth query, report generation	The most complete functions, suitable for long-term operation on the computer
Alipay mini program	Alipay search "88cha"	Quick verification, mobile query	No additional download required, use Alipay real-name system
WeChat mini program	WeChat search "88cha"	Social sharing, lightweight query	Suitable for quickly forwarding corporate information in chat scenarios
1688AI App	Major app stores	Procurement scenarios, supply chain inquiries	Deep integration with 1688 transaction links

Typical usage path: Open 88 Search → Enter the company name or natural language question in the AI ​​search box (such as "Check whether this company has any lawsuits") → The system returns a structured information summary → For in-depth analysis, click "AI Source" or "Slow Thinking" to generate a complete report → Make business decisions (cooperation/investment/purchasing/employment) based on the results.

Product Pricing

88cha is currently completely free for all users, with no membership system, no limit on the number of queries, and no hidden payment functions. This is its most direct differentiation strategy from Tianyancha and Qichacha.

Plan	What's Included	Price
Free version	Enterprise information query AI in-depth analysis, equity structure, risk warning, bidding, patents and trademarks, etc. All functions	¥0

Sustainability of the free model: 88cha is free not because of "no cost", but because Alibaba regards enterprise data query as an ecological entrance rather than a profit center. Its business model is implicit in three paths: ① Guide users to enter the 1688 procurement transaction link and profit from the transaction; ② Guide the Alibaba Cloud enterprise service market; ③ Accumulate enterprise query behavior data and optimize Alibaba's commercial credit evaluation model.

Price comparison with competing products:

Platform	Free scope	Paid starting point	Remarks
88cha	All functions are free	—	No paid plan yet
Tianyancha	Limited basic information query	VIP ¥360/year	Advanced features require payment
Qichacha	Limited query of basic information	VIP starts from ¥198/year	Fees apply for reports and exports

Hidden Cost Tip: Although 88cha itself is free, its data all comes from public channels and does not provide exclusive in-depth reports of Tianyancha/Qichacha (such as corporate public opinion monitoring, in-depth financial analysis, etc.). If users need advanced analysis functions found in paid competing products, 88cha may not be able to completely replace them at this time.

Application scenarios

The implementation scenarios of 88cha cover three major categories: personal career decision-making, corporate business cooperation and investment and financial management:

• Job hunting background check (individual): After receiving the offer, enter the company name in 88cha to quickly check the target company's business status, legal proceedings records and breach of trust information. Benefits: from "judging whether the company is reliable based on feelings" to "getting objective data reference in 3 minutes" - the deduction can reduce the time of a single back-check from 30 minutes (manually searching multiple platforms) to 3 minutes.
• Supplier Qualification Review (Procurement/Business): Before cooperation, use 88 to check the other party's industrial and commercial information, ownership structure, and risk records, and use the "Find Source Factory" function to identify whether it is a first-hand manufacturer. Benefits: Reduce the marginal cost of initial supplier screening to zero, and at the same time reduce the probability of failure. Traditional methods require paid inquiries or rely on sales tactics. The deduction can save 80% of the initial due diligence time.
• Investment and Financial Management Risk Hedging (Individual Investors): When encountering financial management products, investment opportunities or crowdfunding projects, first check the business background and integrity record of the main company. Benefits: Help non-professional investors add a step of information verification before making "impulsive decisions".
• Industry Research and Competitive Product Analysis (Analyst/Market): Use DeepSeek's in-depth research mode to quickly generate analysis reports for specific industries or companies to assist in industry research and business plan writing. Benefits: From manually collecting scattered information to AI generating structured reports, deduction can shorten the production time of the first draft of industry research from 2-3 days to 2-3 hours.
• Tendering business opportunity mining (BD/sales): Query national bidding announcements and winning results in real time, and identify potential customers and competing product trends. Benefits: Help enterprise BD teams obtain public business opportunity intelligence at zero cost and reduce dependence on paid bidding platforms.
• Intellectual Property Due Diligence (Legal Affairs/Technical Cooperation): Before technical cooperation or licensing, quickly query the patent and trademark layout of the target company and identify IP risks. Income: 0%

This completes the preliminary IP due diligence, and only needs to entrust a professional agency to conduct in-depth verification when potential problems are discovered.

Applicable people

Core Population:

• Job seekers/workers: Quickly check the company background before and after the interview to avoid "problem companies" with abnormal operations, dishonest enforcers and frequent changes in legal persons.
• Small and medium-sized business owners/entrepreneurs: Low-cost screening of suppliers, verification of partner qualifications, and assessment of customer credit risks - these scenarios often required paid inquiries or reliance on personal connections.
• Business/Purchasing Staff: Back-check suppliers in batches, check source factories, monitor competitive product dynamics, and improve supply chain management efficiency.
• Individual investors/shareholders: Conduct preliminary due diligence on investment targets of unlisted companies and quickly understand the company's fundamentals.
• Analyst/Market Researcher: Leverage AI in-depth research capabilities to generate first drafts of industry and company analysis reports as a starting point for further research.

Does not fit boundaries:

• Users who need in-depth financial analysis (such as interpretation of financial report details, cash flow forecast): 88cha currently does not provide in-depth financial analysis reports among paid competitors. Such needs must still use Tianyancha VIP or professional financial data terminals.
• Institutional users who need batch data export: 88cha does not currently support batch export, which cannot meet the offline analysis scenarios of large amounts of enterprise data.
• Scenarios that require exclusive non-public data: 88cha’s data all comes from public channels and does not include exclusive database content obtained by traditional competitive products through cooperation or procurement.
• Overseas Enterprise Inquiry: 88cha focuses on domestic enterprise data and does not currently cover information inquiry on overseas companies.

Summary and Outlook

88cha’s core competitiveness can be summarized in three words: Free + AI + Alibaba Ecosystem. It uses a free strategy to remove the price threshold of traditional enterprise query tools, uses AI natural language interaction to remove the operational threshold, and then uses 1688 supply chain data and Sesame Credit data to build data barriers that are difficult for competing products to copy. It is not a "free version" of Tianyancha, but a redesign of "how users obtain business information" in terms of product logic - from "manual screening of multi-dimensional data" to "direct questions and AI giving answers".

The main limitations at the current stage are: ① The depth of functions still needs to be improved, and some advanced analysis functions (corporate research reports, growth forecasts) are still in the internal testing stage; ② The report export and batch processing capabilities have not yet been opened, and institutional users still need to use paid tools; ③ The long-term sustainability of the "free" model depends on the commercial transformation within the Alibaba ecosystem. If the ecosystem fails to meet expectations, there is still uncertainty about whether charging levels will be introduced in the future.

Procurement/Adoption Risk Assessment: Individual users and small and micro businesses can incorporate this into their daily decision-making processes at zero cost and without any financial risk. Enterprise procurement decision-makers need to pay attention to: ① 88cha’s free service means there is no SLA guarantee, and cross-verification of data in key decision-making scenarios is recommended; ② The data all comes from public channels and does not replace professional legal and financial due diligence; ③ If batch API calls or customized report output are needed, 88cha cannot meet the requirements at the current stage, and additional evaluation of the enterprise API solution of Tianyancha/Qichacha is required as a supplement.

Related tools: perplexity, you-com

Version Info

• 88cha App 2.0 ：Integrate DeepSeek-R1 in-depth research capabilities, and add new functions such as AI business testing, slow thinking mode, and special retrieval of bidding and bidding. （~2026-06）
• 88cha App 1.0 ：The 88cha mobile app is officially launched, supporting core functions such as corporate information query, equity penetration, and risk warning. （~2025-12）
• Web first release ：The 88cha Web version is online, and it is among the first batch to open basic functions such as enterprise industrial and commercial information inquiry and business risk identification. （~2025-07）