That's the thing. All claims of Alibaba's adoption of Vue comes from the author himself. I think it's reasonable to have doubt. I'm sure they use it. But to claim that they heavily invest in it may be exaggerated.
Yes, he has openly said he is funded through patreon. Now that the framework is super popular, he may have other sources of income, but it's not built by/for/in Alibaba afaik.