Alibaba Group Holding shares rose by up to 5.4 percent during Monday trading, after the company revealed a trial version of its flagship AI model Qwen3.8 Max, asserting it ranks second globally after Anthropic's Fable 5 model.

An accelerating Chinese race to compete with AI giants

The launch of the new model, announced yesterday Sunday, came just days after the startup Moonshot AI unveiled its powerful new model, a move that sparked global market interest and renewed concerns in the United States about China's accelerating progress and narrowing the gap with leading companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, according to Bloomberg News.

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The Qwen3.8 Max model contains about 2.4 trillion parameters, joining the category of giant models alongside the Kimi K3 developed by Moonshot. The latter has 2.8 trillion parameters, making it a direct competitor to the most advanced models globally, while Alibaba bets on its new model's capabilities at a similar ambitious level.

Availability of the model to developers

Developers can now access Qwen3.8 Max through Alibaba's programming platforms, including the Qoder platform. The company also intends to make the model available in open-weight format in the coming period, which will expand its use beyond the current trial version.

The huge demand for AI models developed in China reflects the growing momentum in the sector, as Moonshot had to temporarily suspend accepting new subscriptions on Sunday evening due to high demand exceeding expectations.

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Pressure on competitors

In contrast, not all Chinese companies operating in the field benefited from this momentum. Zhipu, one of the most prominent competitors in the AI race, suffered heavy losses following the launch of the Kimi K3 model.

The company's shares fell by about 30 percent on Friday, before adding new losses of 14 percent during Monday trading, despite being one of the most prominent startup listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for most of the current year.

Consecutive gains for Alibaba

Alibaba, headquartered in Hangzhou and China's largest e-commerce company and one of the biggest investors in AI technologies, continues to achieve strategic gains in the sector.

The company recently achieved an important victory after Apple Intelligence received approval from Chinese authorities—the AI system for iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products—which will rely on Alibaba's technologies in the Chinese market.

China competes for AI leadership

The launch of new giant Chinese models reinforces the growing impression that Beijing is quickly approaching the level reached by leading US AI companies. While Alibaba, Moonshot, and others compete for local leadership, pressure mounts on global competitors to maintain their edge in a market witnessing unprecedented rapid developments.