Investing.com -- Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd., the ecommerce and cloud computing leader in China, is preparing to launch Qwen 3, an improved version of its primary AI model. The new offering is expected to be available later this month, although the exact date remains uncertain, according to a report from Bloomberg, citing a source close to the matter.
Alibaba has been rapidly releasing AI products since deciding to fully embrace the technology earlier this year. Just last week, the company introduced a new model in its Qwen 2.5 series, capable of processing text, pictures, audio, and video. This model is efficient enough to operate directly on mobile phones and laptops. In addition, a new version of the AI assistant Quark app was launched last month by the company.
The move comes as competition in the AI space intensifies, with rivals such as OpenAI and DeepSeek also releasing a stream of new models. DeepSeek, a fellow Hangzhou-based company, recently took the spotlight with an effective model that reportedly cost just a few million dollars to construct. This has spurred a surge of low-cost AI services from China’s tech leaders, posing a potential challenge to premium US offerings from companies like OpenAI, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc.’s Google, and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT).
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