Alibaba's Qwen AI Models Offer Open-Source Language Processing
Alibaba Cloud develops Qwen, a family of large language models available under various open and proprietary licenses. The system originally launched in 2023 and continues to expand with new updates.
Alibaba Cloud develops Qwen, a comprehensive family of large language models and chatbots originally launched in April 2023 under the name Tongyi Qianwen. The AI system becomes available for public use in September 2023 after receiving regulatory clearance. Qwen operates as a web application and on Android devices to provide conversational AI capabilities.
The Qwen model family utilizes a foundation based on the Llama architecture and offers multiple licensing options to suit different users. Many of these models distribute freely under the open-source Apache 2.0 license or a source-available Qwen License, while specific versions use a non-commercial research license. Proprietary iterations remain exclusive to the Alibaba Cloud platform.
Qwen continues to evolve with regular stable releases, including recent iterations like the Qwen3.7 Max and Qwen3.7 Plus models. The system supports advanced features such as a visible "Thinking" mode that displays the AI's reasoning process. The project maintains an active open-source presence on GitHub alongside its official web portal at qwen.ai.