surprising fact
Alibaba’s AI model is comparable in size to Chinese startup Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, which the firm claimed was the largest-ever open AI model at 2.8 trillion parameters. Open models, like Kimi K3 or Qwen3.8-Max, allow developers to download, run and modify the AI, unlike proprietary models like ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, whose underlying systems are private. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic has disclosed the total parameter counts of their models.
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key background
Ahead of the full unveiling of Qwen3.8-Max, Alibaba claimed its AI model would be comparable to other leading AI models and second only to Anthropic’s flagship Fable. The release comes as Chinese AI firms have worked to close the gap with their American competitors, despite U.S. export controls limiting access to the most advanced AI chips, including Nvidia’s H200 chips. The U.S. has alleged that Chinese firms have smuggled banned AI chips into China from the U.S. and worked around export restrictions by buying processors through foreign subsidiaries. Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would look into whether Chinese AI models had been distilled from American models, shortly after Moonshot—founded in 2023 with backing from Alibaba—launched its Kimi K3 model, adding the U.S. government did not support “IP theft.”
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further reading
ForbesChinese AI Startup Moonshot Unveils Kimi K3 Model—Will It Challenge OpenAI And Anthropic?By Ty Roush