3 weeks ago
Alibaba plans revenue share for next open-source AI model
Alibaba is a big technology company in China.
It makes computer programs called artificial intelligence, or AI, that help computers think.
Its new AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, is open-source, which usually means it is free for anyone to download and use.
But Alibaba now plans to ask big companies that earn a lot of money using the model to share some of that money.
Another Chinese company called Moonshot already has this rule for its Kimi K3 model and can ask for up to 30% of the money.
If a company makes more than $20 million from the model, it must make a special deal with the creators.
Alibaba used to let people run its models in their own data centers for free and only charged for models hosted on its cloud.
Some people in the U.S. government say Moonshot copied ideas from an American company called Anthropic, but Chinese officials say that is not true.
These deals help Chinese AI companies pay for their work and compete with big American AI companies like OpenAI.
Alibaba plans to ask major users of its next open-source AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, for a share of the revenue they generate, according to two people familiar with the plans.
Alibaba intends to implement the revenue-sharing measure next week, following Moonshot AI's similar requirement in the Kimi K3 license.
Moonshot's Kimi K3 license requires service providers generating more than $20 million in annual sales to reach a commercial agreement, with up to a 30% revenue share.
Alibaba has previously charged for models hosted on its cloud platform but allowed open-source models to be used in customers' data centers without payment.
U.S. firms including DigitalOcean and Together AI are offering Chinese open-source models under commercial arrangements, even as the White House accuses Moonshot of stealing technology from Anthropic and Chinese officials reject the claim.
- Who
- Alibaba Group, the Chinese technology giant, and fellow Chinese AI firm Moonshot AI
- What
- Alibaba plans to require major commercial users of its next open-source AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, to share a portion of the revenue they generate
- Where
- China, with the Chinese models also offered by U.S. firms such as DigitalOcean and Together AI
- When
- Reported Aug 7; Alibaba plans to implement the measure next week
- Why
- Chinese AI firms are converging on an open-source 'freemium' business model to fund development and take market share from U.S. rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google
White House / Accusers
Chinese Officials / AI Firms
Technology theft accusation
White House / Accusers
The White House has accused Moonshot of stealing technology from Anthropic.
Chinese Officials / AI Firms
Chinese officials have rejected the claim as unfounded.
Open-source fee model
White House / Accusers
Open-source software is often thought of as free, so revenue-sharing fees tied to open-weight models may surprise developers and users.
Chinese Officials / AI Firms
Charging for heavy commercial use and additional services is a tried and tested open-source 'freemium' model that funds ongoing development.
Key facts
- Company
- Alibaba Group
- Next Model
- Qwen3.8-Max
- Model Type
- Open-source, open-weight
- Revenue Share Rate
- Up to 30% for Moonshot's Kimi K3; Alibaba's rate not disclosed
- Commercial Threshold
- $20 million in annual sales (Kimi K3 license)
- Report Date
- Aug 7 (Reuters)
- Comparable Release
- Kimi K3 by Moonshot AI, released last month
- Pricing Contrast
- Kimi K3 costs about a third of Anthropic's Fable model
Quotes
Alibaba spokesperson
Representative of Alibaba’s AI division
“"You pay for collaboration with these open-weight model labs to make sure that you're optimizing your deployment. You pay for getting early access for the next revision of the model."”
livemint.com
“Alibaba is exploring a revenue‑sharing model that would require large commercial users to share a portion of the profits generated by the Qwen model.”
thehansindia.com
Lin Qiao
CEO and co-founder of Silicon Valley-based Fireworks AI
“"I don't see a fundamental barrier" to powerful open-source U.S. models.”
livemint.com
Sources
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