Alibaba’s latest artificial intelligence model, QwQ-32B, is making waves as a direct competitor to DeepSeek, the AI phenomenon that took the tech world by storm earlier this year.
The Chinese tech giant claims QwQ-32B delivers performance on par with DeepSeek while requiring significantly less data, marking a major leap in efficiency. Investors responded enthusiastically, driving Alibaba’s shares up over 7% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday morning.
This launch intensifies China’s AI race, with Alibaba now competing alongside Tencent’s Yuanbao against DeepSeek, further strengthening the nation’s growing presence in the global AI arena.
Alibaba has been on an aggressive AI expansion path, recently committing over $50 billion to AI and cloud computing development over the next three years. The move aligns with Beijing’s broader push to boost economic activity and technological innovation.
Adding to investor optimism, Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma recently reemerged in China’s business scene after years of staying out of the spotlight. His presence at a high-level symposium alongside President Xi Jinping signaled a possible shift in the government’s stance towards the private sector.
With AI at the forefront of China’s tech resurgence, QwQ-32B could be Alibaba’s next big play in reclaiming dominance in the rapidly evolving industry.
