Chinese tech giant Alibaba on Sunday, July 19, launched its latest flagship AI model called Qwen 3.8 Max under preview. The large language model (LLM) has been described as comparable to leading frontier AI models in performance, and second only to Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5.
The preview version of Qwen 3.8 Max can be accessed by developers through Alibaba’s coding platforms such as Qoder and QoderWork. It is among the most powerful AI models available today, according to the Huangzhou-based company.
Alibaba further said that the open-weight version of Qwen 3.8 Max will be released soon. The model’s parameter count is 2.4 trillion. However, the company has not provided any other technical specifications related to the newly launched model.
Qwen3.8 is launching and going open-weight soon!🌐
With a massive 2.4T parameters, this model is continuously evolving. We believe it’s one of the most powerful model available today, compatible to leading frontier AI models , second only to Fable 5.
You don’t have to wait to… pic.twitter.com/JS3ID73IYS
— Qwen (@Alibaba_Qwen) July 19, 2026
The debut of Qwen 3.8 Max comes at a time when Chinese AI companies are looking to close the gap with leading models developed by US-based firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. In contrast to the US, a defining feature of China’s AI strategy has been characterised by its open-source approach to LLM development.
Most models developed by Chinese AI labs have been released under an open-source license, allowing developers to freely download the model weights, modify them, deploy them on their own infrastructure, and build upon them.
Alibaba’s Qwen 3.8 Max also comes just days after Chinese startup Moonshot AI unveiled Kimi K3 whose performance is believed to rival top offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. With over 2.8 trillion parameters, Kimi K3 is a slightly bigger model than Qwen 3.8.
Moonshot AI on Sunday said that Kimi K3 has received far more love than expected, and that its GPUs were coming under strain due to the surge in demand. Hence, the reportedly IPO-bound startup announced that it is temporarily pausing new subscriptions on its AI chatbot platform in order to prioritise existing customers
Meanwhile, Alibaba’s Qwen models also seem poised for widespread adoption in China after the country’s internet regulator approved the rollout of Apple IntelligenceApple’s on-device generative AI service, on iPhones registered for use in China.
However, instead of relying on Gemini models or ChatGPT integrations, Apple Intelligence will incorporate capabilities from AI models developed by Alibaba and Baidu as part of a partnership involving the local tech firms.
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