Alibaba Qwen AI Models Hit 3 Billion Downloads, Surpassing Meta and Google

Alibaba AI models hit 3 billion downloads, passing Meta, Google | Fortune

Qwen, Alibaba's family of AI models, has open-sourced more than 460 models and its ecosystem has spawned 300,000-plus derivatives, the Chinese technology company said in an emailed statement. Google, part of Alphabet, had 418 million downloads while Meta stood at 227 million in 2026, according to popular open-source AI hub Hugging Face Inc., which published a state of open models report on Aug. 14. Open models can be downloaded, customized and used as building blocks for new AI products, making adoption a gauge of which technologies developers are choosing to build on. That has made download and derivative-model figures one measure of influence in the US-China AI race, as Chinese developers including Alibaba push capable models that are relatively cheap and easy to adapt. Qwen's rise suggests that strategy is gaining traction beyond China. Qwen along with Moonshot AI Inc, DeepSeek and Chinese AI model builders are replicating frontier performance, seeking to bridge the gap with closed models in US, such as OpenAI Inc. and Anthropic PBC. Export controls on chips and AI systems, such as the brief ban on overseas access to Anthropic's Fable 5 model this summer, don't appear to be putting the brakes on Chinese competitors. Alibaba's download data for Qwen makes it "one of the largest foundations of the open AI ecosystem," the Hugging Face report said. The Hangzhou-based cloud, e-commerce and AI tech company is making gains over local rivals DeepSeek, Moonshot Kimi and MiniMax as well as US models. "Qwen has become part of the default workflow for developers deciding what models to fine-tune and deploy," the report said. A broad model family can create a self-reinforcing ecosystem: more developers adopt the models, more derivative versions are built, and that in turn draws in new users. Alibaba has bolstered that cycle by distributing Qwen through its cloud platform to enterprise customers in markets including Southeast Asia and Africa, giving it a reach that many rivals lack. US tech giants are responding. In recent weeks, Meta and Nvidia Corp. have released new open AI models as competition for developers intensifies.

Meta and Google just got beaten by an AI giant you might not expect

The AI race usually revolves around familiar names like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic. But when it comes to models developers can actually download and build upon, another company has raced to the front -- and by quite some distance. Alibaba says its Qwen family of open-weight AI models has crossed 3 billion downloads globally over the past six months. That puts Qwen ahead of some of the biggest names in AI, including models from Meta and Google. The difference is especially striking in Hugging Face data for 2026. Google's open models have recorded around 418 million downloads, while Meta sits at roughly 227 million, according to Hugging Face's latest State of Open Models report. Qwen, meanwhile, is becoming much more than one popular model. Alibaba has released more than 460 Qwen models, and developers have created over 300,000 derivative models from them. Developers are building on Qwen, not just downloading it Those download numbers matter because open models work differently from closed AI services. Developers can take them, customize them for a particular job, fine-tune them with their own data, and use them as the foundation for entirely new AI products. In other words, every download can become something else. That appears to be happening with Qwen at a huge scale. Hugging Face describes it as one of the biggest foundations of today's open AI ecosystem, with the model family increasingly becoming a go-to choice for developers deciding what they want to fine-tune or deploy. It can also create something of a snowball effect. More developers using Qwen means more specialized versions of it become available. Those models can then attract even more developers, further expanding the ecosystem. Alibaba has another advantage here: its cloud business. The company is bringing Qwen to enterprise customers outside China, including markets across Southeast Asia and Africa, potentially putting its models in front of businesses that might otherwise gravitate toward American alternatives. China's open AI push is getting difficult to overlook Qwen's growth also adds another dimension to the AI rivalry between China and the US -- Alibaba isn't alone. Chinese companies, including DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax, are all developing increasingly capable models while trying to narrow the performance gap with leading closed systems from companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. The fight for developers is only getting busier. Meta and Nvidia have both introduced new open AI models in recent weeks, giving developers even more options when deciding what technology to build around. For Alibaba, however, reaching 3 billion downloads shows Qwen has already found an enormous audience beyond its home market. The next big AI battle may not simply be about who builds the smartest model; it could be about whose model everyone else chooses to build with.