Now Reading: Alibaba Weighs Revenue Sharing for Commercial Use of Qwen AI Models
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Alibaba Weighs Revenue Sharing for Commercial Use of Qwen AI Models
Alibaba is considering asking large businesses to share revenue earned from products built using its open-source Qwen AI models, India Today reports, citing Reuters and two people familiar with the plans. Terms…
The Story in Brief
Alibaba is considering asking large businesses to share revenue earned from products built using its open-source Qwen AI models, India Today reports, citing Reuters and two people familiar with the plans. Terms and rates have not been decided. The company currently lets customers download and run models in their own data centres, while charging for access through Alibaba Cloud.
The proposal may accompany Qwen3.8-Max, which is expected next week. It follows Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 licence, requiring companies selling the model as a service and earning more than $20 million a year to sign a separate commercial agreement. Chinese AI firms are offering low-cost models to attract users, but face heavy development and operating expenses.
The Indian Opinion
The claim that open-source AI must always be free ignores the cost of training and running these systems. But the opposite story, that any revenue share will be easy for businesses to accept, is just as premature. Companies need clear definitions of commercial use, transparent rates and protection from unexpected bills. The first useful test will be Alibaba’s final licence and whether it sets a threshold comparable to Moonshot’s $20 million rule.
Source: indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
