The Qwen3 series includes two so-called mixture-of-experts (MoE) models that are trying to match hybrid reasoning systems - which mimic the way humans think through problems - recently introduced by Anthropic and Alphabet's Google.
DeepSeek and other developers have also used the MoE technique, which divides tasks into smaller sets of data, very much like having a team of specialists who each focus on a segment of a job, thereby making the process more efficient.
Since DeepSeek upstaged OpenAI with a powerful model it said took just a few million dollars to build, China's tech leaders have flooded the market with a rapid succession of low-cost AI services. Alibaba - which in 2025 declared itself all-in on the AI race - came out with a new model in its Qwen 2.5 series just a few weeks ago that can process text, pictures, audio and video - and is efficient enough to run directly on phones and laptops. It unveiled a new version of its AI assistant Quark app in March.
OpenAI, Google and Anthropic have similarly released a flurry of models in recent months. OpenAI recently said it also plans to release a more "open" model that mimics human reasoning in the coming months, a shift in strategy after DeepSeek and Alibaba pushed out open-source AI systems. Alibaba said Tuesday that all its Qwen3 models are open source.
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Alibaba is building its AI endeavors around Qwen. In February, CEO Eddie Wu said the company's "primary objective" was now artificial general intelligence, a somewhat hazy goal in the industry to build AI systems with human-level intellectual capabilities.
That shift helped the company recover from years of turmoil after co-founder Jack Ma clashed with the country's Communist Party over regulation of the private sector. Ma, who had been China's highest-profile business leader, largely disappeared from public view over the next few years.
In February, Ma joined other prominent entrepreneurs in a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to talk through new technologies and innovations. The gathering signaled Beijing's support for a private sector considered key to reviving the world's No. 2 economy.
