Hangzhou-based tech giant Alibaba Group’s cloud computing unit, Alibaba Cloud, has unveiled two open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI) models, Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat, in a bid to compete with Meta Platform’s Llama 2. Each model boasts 7 billion parameters, marking the first time a major Chinese tech company has open-sourced its Large Language Models (LLMs). This move comes shortly after Meta’s Llama 2 release, which garnered significant attention and raised concerns about the market dominance of OpenAI and Google’s AI models.
Facilitating Businesses to Embrace AI:
The two models, Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat, are smaller versions of Alibaba Cloud’s LLM, Tongyi Qianwen, which was introduced in April. Alibaba aims to support small and medium-sized enterprises in leveraging AI technologies to enhance their operations and services.
Alibaba Cloud plans to make the “code, model weights, and documentation” of both AI models freely accessible to academics, researchers, and commercial institutions worldwide. This move is expected to stimulate AI research and development globally.
While the open-sourced models are available for free, large companies with over 100 million monthly active users must obtain a license from Alibaba before using Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat. Similarly, Meta’s Llama 2 also necessitates a license for users with more than 700 million users.
China’s Drive to Compete in AI:
China has been actively striving to catch up with the United States in the AI field. The Chinese government encourages domestic companies, including tech giants like Alibaba, Tencent Holdings, and Huawei, to develop homegrown and “controllable” AI models to rival those from U.S. companies.
Earlier this year, Alibaba Cloud announced Tongyi Qianwen, its own LLM, with multiple versions catering to different parameter sizes. The company has been making continuous efforts to integrate AI into various products and services, including its messaging app DingTalk and meeting assistant called Tingwu.
Alibaba’s move to open-source AI models signifies a significant step in democratizing access to advanced AI technologies and fostering innovation in the global AI community. As the competition intensifies between Chinese tech giants and global players like Meta Platform (META), the AI landscape is likely to witness rapid advancements and breakthroughs in the coming years.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Stock Forecast
The analysis of 12 analysts, Alibaba Group s expected to reach an average target price of USD 138.12 within the next 12 months. The analysts’ rating for the stock is Strong Buy.
Stock Target Advisor, after conducting its own analysis, has a slightly bullish outlook on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Their analysis takes into consideration 7 positive signals and 5 negative signals.
At the last closing, Alibaba Group stock price was USD 95.07. Over the past week, the stock price has experienced a decline of -2.13%. However, it has shown positive growth over the past month with an increase of +14.06% and has also gained +2.65% over the last year.
