Alibaba to Charge Large Users of Qwen AI Model in Bid to Monetize Technology

Alibaba is planning to change its approach to distributing its open-source AI model Qwen, according to Reuters. The company intends to charge the largest commercial users of the next version of the model. The model weights — files with parameters obtained during AI training — will still be available for free download. Previously, Alibaba allowed developers and companies to use Qwen open models for free, a strategy that helped expand its audience rapidly but did not create a direct source of profit. Now Alibaba is considering an approach where small startups and regular users get the technology for free, while large companies that benefit from AI negotiate separate commercial terms with the developer. The size of the potential fee or revenue share has not yet been determined; sources say Alibaba is still discussing the details before releasing the new Qwen version. Alibaba recently introduced Qwen3.8-Max as the most powerful version of its lineup, claiming it ranks second among global open AI models. Reuters notes that Qwen's popularity makes commercial monetization more attractive, as the more companies use the technology, the higher the potential revenue from paid access for large clients.