Alibaba Launches Qwen2.5-Omni-7B: A New Multimodal AI Model in China's Competitive AI Landscape

Alibaba Strikes Back With New AI Model To Rival DeepSeek In China - Alibaba Gr Hldgs (NYSE:BABA)

On Thursday, Alibaba Group Holding BABA cloud unit launched a new artificial intelligence model in its "Qwen series." The new "Qwen2.5-Omni-7B" is a multimodal model that can process inputs, including text, images, audio, and videos, while generating real-time text and natural speech responses, CNBC cites from Alibaba Cloud's website. The company can deploy the model on edge devices like mobile phones. Now, visually impaired people can navigate their environment through real-time audio descriptions. Also Read: In Geopolitical Chess, China's Latest Energy Norms Block Nvidia's Chip Strategy Amid US Sanctions Alibaba open-sourced the new model on the platforms Hugging Face and Github. The emergence of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek and claims of affordable AI models led to Nvidia Corp NVDA losing $600 billion in market cap in a single day. DeepSeek's AI model fueled a $1 trillion market wipeout in the U.S. and also fueled a domestic price war, prompting Chinese Big Tech companies to roll out affordable AI models. Reports in January indicated that Alibaba's Qwen2.5-VL AI model surpasses GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 in video analysis, math and document parsing capabilities. Qwen2.5-VL can control devices, analyze charts, and book flights, showcasing advanced AI applications for practical use. Last week, Baidu Inc BIDU launched a new multimodal foundational model and its debut reasoning-focused model. Alibaba has committed $53 billion in its cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the next three years. Kai Wang of Morningstar told CNBC that large Chinese tech players like Alibaba are well-positioned to benefit from China's post-DeepSeek AI boom. On Wednesday, Alibaba and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG BMWYY announced they expanded their collaboration to co-develop an AI assistant using Qwen LLM for Neue Klasse models, which will launch in China in 2026. In March, Alibaba Chair Joe Tsai told CNBC that AI's total addressable market is at least $10 trillion, topping industries like transportation and healthcare insurance. Tsai expects Alibaba to benefit from this upsurge of AI courtesy of its cloud computing business. Alibaba stock surged 85% in the last 12 months. Price Action: BABA stock is up 1.29% at $133.95 premarket at last check Thursday. Also Read: Amazon Takes Creative Control Of James Bond, Taps Top Producers to Reboot Iconic Franchise Photo by Poetra.RH via Shutterstock BABAAlibaba Group Holding Ltd$133.631.05%OverviewBIDUBaidu Inc$98.410.93%BMWYYBayerische Motoren Werke AG ADR$29.210.03%NVDANVIDIA Corp$111.91-1.63%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Alibaba Steps Up AI Game With Qwen 3, Challenging DeepSeek's Low-Cost AI Success - Alibaba Gr Hldgs (NYSE:BABA)

In a market dominated by tariff tensions, geopolitical surprises, and Fed uncertainty, Matt Maley's technical approach delivers clear entry & exit points for consistent income potential. Try it free for 7 days Alibaba Group Holding BABA plans to release Qwen 3, an upgraded version of its flagship AI model, by April. China's tech leaders have flooded the market with affordable AI services since a domestic AI startup, DeepSeek, showcased a robust model that it said cost just several million dollars to build, Bloomberg reports. OpenAI, Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google and Anthropic have similarly released new models. Also Read: Alibaba's March Expo Sparks 27% Jump In US Small Business Orders The wave of new Asian models is questioning the sustainability of the high-end U.S. offerings from OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft Corp MSFT. Last week, Alibaba launched a new model in its Qwen 2.5 series that can process text, pictures, audio, and video and run directly on mobile phones and laptops. It showcased a new version of the AI assistant Quark app in March. After grappling with domestic regulatory crackdowns, leadership reshuffles, and collapsing market confidence, Alibaba stock noted a turnaround. A rallying call from co-founder Jack Ma in late 2023 helped ignite a turnaround that has pushed the company's U.S.-listed shares up 56% year-to-date, adding more than $100 billion to its valuation. Under the leadership of Eddie Wu and Joe Tsai, the company has since leaned into artificial intelligence. The return of Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma to public view, particularly during a meeting with President Xi Jinping in February, signaled improved relations between Alibaba and China's leadership. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities called Alibaba the "best way to play China tech," citing its strong positioning in AI and cloud. Price Action: BABA stock is down 3.15% at $125.70 premarket at last check Wednesday. Read Next: China's XPeng Clocks Record Q1 EV Sales, Deliveries Surge 3.6X Photo by jackpress via Shutterstock BABAAlibaba Group Holding Ltd $125.71-3.14% Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full Score Edge Rankings Momentum94.96 Growth73.00 Quality52.13 Value77.69 Price Trend Short Medium Long Overview GOOGAlphabet Inc $154.43-2.79% GOOGLAlphabet Inc $152.60-2.83% MSFTMicrosoft Corp $371.80-2.71% Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Why Alibaba Stock Trounced the Market Today | The Motley Fool

News of a fresh product release in a white-hot segment of the tech industry drew investors to Alibaba Group (BABA 2.58%) stock on Thursday. They ultimately ended up driving the Chinese tech giant's stock almost 3% higher in price, during a trading session that saw the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.33%) close 0.3% lower. That day, Alibaba's Cloud unit launched the latest artificial intelligence (AI) model in its Qwen series. The somewhat awkwardly named Qwen2.5-Omni-7B is multimodal, meaning it can digest various types of inputs comprising text, video, images, audio, and others. Alibaba has made Qwen2.5 open-source. It is available on several platforms, including Alibaba Cloud's ModelScope open-source community, and GitHub. The company didn't hesitate to point out that this is habitual, as it has released more than 200 AI models as open-source offerings. Qwen2.5's maker lavished praise on the new model. In Alibaba Cloud's announcement, the company wrote that it "delivers uncompromised performance and powerful multimodal capabilities." "This unique combination makes it the perfect foundation for developing agile, cost-effective AI agents that deliver tangible value, especially intelligent voice applications," Alibaba added. AI development in China has been especially feverish since the January release of domestic start-up company DeepSeek's R1 model. According to many users, the output produced by R1 is comparable to those from some of the top AI developers around the world, leading to something of a scramble to build a better (and, crucially, more cost-effective) mousetrap. Given that, investors should monitor the reaction from AI professionals about Qwen2.5's capabilities. If it works as hyped, it should keep Alibaba competitive in the Great AI Race.