Alibaba Group Holding, the China-based multinational conglomerate, is set to launch an advanced version of its flagship artificial intelligence model, Qwen 3, later this month. The release timeline may still be subject to change, as per sources familiar with the matter.

Qwen 3 is part of Alibaba’s evolving Qwen AI series and is expected to deliver enhanced capabilities in natural language processing, image recognition, and multimodal input handling, including text, image, audio, and video data. The model is designed to power a wide range of generative AI applications such as content creation and customer service automation.

This move follows Alibaba's recent rollout of several AI offerings, including the Qwen 2.5 series and an upgraded version of its AI assistant, Quark. Last week, Alibaba Cloud introduced the Qwen2.5-Omni-7B model, a compact, multimodal AI system capable of real-time responses across various formats. The model supports cost-efficient and dynamic AI agent development.

The upcoming Qwen 3 launch aligns with Alibaba’s broader strategic plan to significantly increase its AI investments over the next three years, exceeding the company’s AI spend over the past decade.

Alibaba’s push comes at a time of heightened global competition in AI, with firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic also announcing new model advancements. In China, companies are increasingly introducing affordable AI services, following innovations like DeepSeek, which has positioned itself as a cost-effective alternative to Western AI models.