Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Qwen

Qwen
Qwen is a multipurpose artificial intelligence consumer app created by Alibaba as a personal AI assistant for professional and personal use, and powered by the Alibaba Cloud software. Its functionality includes research, image generation and slide generation. Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud computing unit of Hangzhou-based Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Chinese AI models including DeepSeek, Alibaba’s Qwen and Moonshot AI’s Kimi are gaining ground with African businesses. Photo: Shutterstock
China-Africa relations

African businesses keep options open as Chinese AI gains ground

Lower costs, downloadable models and greater language flexibility are helping Chinese AI models gain ground across the continent.

videocam
7
China technology

Opinion | Asia is reaching for the open road that Chinese AI offers

videocam
Alibaba

Alibaba to issue US$10 billion in new shares for global AI push

United States

Opinion | America is arguing over the wrong AI obstacle

Sluggish adoption can’t be blamed on overregulation, and restricting access to US frontier models is no defence against open-source Chinese rivals.

videocam
US President Donald Trump displaying a signed executive order related to his AI Action Plan at the “Winning the AI Race” summit in Washington, D.C. on July 23, 2025. Photo: Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

24 hours with Tencent’s WeChat AI agent: successes and stumbles

The new Xiaowei agent promises hands-free control across WeChat’s vast digital ecosystem. I set out to see whether it delivers.

Artificial intelligence

Back in the Harness: DeepSeek continues its pivot towards agentic AI

With the launch of Harness, China’s DeepSeek continues to build the foundational digital scaffolding for autonomous AI agents.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Alibaba

Alibaba adds commercial restrictions to open-weight Qwen3.8-Max AI model

In a strategy shift, Alibaba’s flagship Qwen3.8-Max model comes with terms for certain companies using it to generate revenue.

Alibaba’s decision to release Qwen3.8-Max’s weights is a shift from its strategy of keeping its most advanced Max models proprietary. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Artificial intelligence

DeepSeek’s flagship AI model update underwhelms – except in cybersecurity

Chinese AI start-up’s model impresses in niche areas like cybersecurity but leaves some developers disappointed in its overall capabilities.

videocam
Alibaba

From CXMT to Zhipu AI, Alibaba’s strategic investments are paying off

The company’s strategic shift to AI and chip investments is not only yielding significant returns, but also boosting its tech portfolio.

Artificial intelligence

Moonshot AI pushes China closer to US in frontier tech

An overwhelming rush to sign up for Moonshot’s Kimi K3 model underscores how China is rapidly gaining ground on the US in artificial intelligence.

Photo: AFP
Alibaba

Alibaba previews Qwen3.8, claiming its strength trails only Anthropic’s Fable 5

Preview reflects the latest phase in China’s AI push, as domestic labs chase parity with US heavyweights.

9
With 2.4 trillion parameters, Qwen3.8 is “one of the most powerful models available today”, according to Alibaba. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Humanoids to Huawei: what to watch as Xi attends China’s top AI event

Gathering will showcase Beijing’s push to compete across the full AI stack, from models and chips to robots, consumer devices.

Artificial intelligence

AI | Chinese AI giants, start-ups ready for the agentic web era

With artificially intelligent agents set to become our interface with the digital world, Chinese tech platforms are embedding them and launching AI-native products.

Alibaba

Why Alibaba shares just scored their strongest gains in Hong Kong this year

UBS and Jefferies project the firm’s revenue to accelerate to 9% in June quarter, well above the 3% recorded in the previous quarter.

videocam
The logo of Alibaba is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. Photo: TNS
China economy

Opinion | Are the US’ AI models better than China’s? That may be beside the point

Rather than fight US frontier AI control, China is thinning the margins of premium AI with cheap-enough, good-enough models for mass adoption.

videocam
People try products at AI+ Power 2026, Hong Kong’s largest artificial intelligence expo and conference, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on June 4. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Artificial intelligence

Meta’s new AI research chief says agents are next big real-world milestone

UC Berkeley’s RDI centre earlier this month introduced Agents’ Last Exam, a new benchmark that tests how well AI agents perform.

Artificial intelligence

Faster AI, lower costs: DSpark eases bottlenecks and chip strain, says DeepSeek

Start-up unveils speculative decoding framework that speeds up inference by up to 85 per cent amid China’s push to overcome US AI curbs.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Alibaba

Alibaba slashes Qwen AI model price during US working hours in fight for users

The aggressive price cut comes amid intense rivalry between US and Chinese artificial intelligence firms.

The Qwen and Alibaba logos. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba chip unit T-Head triples capital amid AI hardware bet

First injection in over three years comes as Alibaba works on full-stack AI infrastructure, from its Qwen models to chips to cloud services.

Artificial intelligence

China’s Alipay gets AI-agent overhaul to challenge rivals Tencent and ByteDance

Fintech giant is seen leveraging its billion-user base to launch a conversational interface that coordinates 10,000 services, with safeguards.

videocam
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba forges Token Foundry as it hammers AI ambitions into shape

Alibaba consolidates key AI teams under CEO Eddie Wu and appoints Qwen leader Zhou Jingren as chief scientist.

Alibaba is stepping up efforts to align its businesses around a unified AI strategy. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Order coffee, book a flight, buy a burger: Alibaba broadens Qwen’s reach

As Tencent prepares a rival WeChat agent, Alibaba is moving quickly to turn Qwen from a chatbot into a digital concierge for everyday life.

The latest upgrade to Alibaba’s Qwen platform brings consumer brands into its AI ecosystem, challenging rivals including Tencent in the battle for China’s next digital gateway. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

ByteDance thinks its Doubao AI is worth paying for. Are China’s users buying it?

The tech giant’s paywall gamble may have backfired after teasing its paid-subscription options for flagship chatbot Doubao saw users bolt.

videocam
Alibaba

Alibaba elevates tech chief Wu Zeming to elite committee amid AI push

Wu joins Jack Ma and Joe Tsai in committee of five overseeing group that steers company’s strategy.

Robotics

Alibaba, Tencent lead pivot from chatbots to embodied AI for robotics

Embodied AI and autonomous agents are increasingly viewed by investors as one of the next major growth areas for the sector, UBS says.

A customer interacts with an AgiBot humanoid at a car dealership in Shanghai, April 8, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Semiconductors

Huawei seeks to match best chips without best chipmaking gear

China’s tech champion is counting on a new approach to chip design to help it overcome challenges from US sanctions.

Huawei’s “chip queen”, He Tingbo. Photo: Handout
Alibaba

‘Sharif speed’ meets Qwen AI: how Alibaba sealed a sweeping deal with Pakistan

Chairman Joe Tsai uses firm’s mobile AI tool to draft a sweeping tech pact in moments, as ‘frontier technologies’ increasingly enter the global limelight.

5
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba signals next phase of AI growth from investment to commercialisation

Chinese e-commerce and cloud computing giant forecasts 30 billion yuan AI revenue in 2026, with agents driving more than half of cloud sales.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement