Alibaba launches Qwen3 'hybrid' AI model, challenges OpenAI, Google
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Alibaba Group on Monday unveiled Qwen3, a new family of large language models designed to compete with leading AI systems from OpenAI and Google.
The release includes eight models, ranging from 0.6 billion to 235 billion parameters, and features a combination of dense and mixture-of-experts (MoE) architectures.
The Chinese tech giant claims Qwen3 matches or outperforms the capabilities of OpenAI's o3-mini and Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro in several key benchmarks, including coding, math reasoning, and complex problem-solving.
Qwen3 models support 119 languages and were trained on 36 trillion tokens sourced from textbooks, code, question-answer datasets, and AI-generated material.
Unlike some competitors, Alibaba has made several Qwen3 models open-weight, available for download via Hugging Face and GitHub.
The flagship Qwen-3-235B-A22B model, which achieved the highest scores in tests, remains restricted for now.
Qwen3 introduces a 'hybrid reasoning' approach, allowing users to toggle between faster, non-reasoning outputs and slower, deeper reasoning modes to optimize accuracy. Alibaba says this flexibility enhances efficiency and user control over AI operations.
The release intensifies competition in China's AI sector, following recent launches by DeepSeek and Baidu.
It also comes amid heightened US export restrictions on advanced chips to China, which could impact future model training.
Qwen3 will be available through cloud providers such as Fireworks AI and Hyperbolic, offering businesses new options beyond proprietary US AI systems.
Industry observers say Alibaba's move signals a rapid closing of the gap between open and closed AI models globally.
"Qwen3's performance shows that open models are keeping pace," said Tuhin Srivastava, CEO of AI platform Baseten.
Alibaba previously released Qwen2.5-Max in January but says Qwen3 represents a significant leap in reasoning ability, coding proficiency, and multi-language support.
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