Alibaba poised to roll out upgraded flagship AI model

Reuters and staff reporter

China's tech and e-commerce giant Alibaba (9988) is planning to release Qwen 3, an upgraded version of its flagship AI model, as soon as this month, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The new release may arrive later in April, although the exact timing could still change, the report said.

AI companies have been releasing new products at a feverish pace in recent months, as competition has piled up after the meteoric rise of China's DeepSeek earlier this year. DeepSeek rocked the global AI industry with its new model that it said was cheaper to develop than its Western rivals.

Alibaba was one of the first companies to respond to DeepSeek's global success in late January, releasing Qwen 2.5-Max, an upgraded version of its flagship model, just days later and claiming that it surpassed the highly-acclaimed DeepSeek-V3.

The unusual timing of Qwen 2.5-Max's release on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, highlighted the pressure DeepSeek has placed on its rivals, including those in China.

In addition, ChatGPT has hit 20 million paid subscribers, up nearly 30 percent from 15.5 million at the end of last year, The Information reported, citing a company spokesperson.

ChatGPT currently generates at least US$415 million (HK$3.24 billion) in monthly revenue from subscriptions, with an annualized revenue reaching US$5 billion, the report said.