Alibaba to seek revenue share from companies using its Qwen3.8-Max open AI model
Alibaba plans commercial terms for large users of its Qwen3.8-Max open model; Moonshot’s Kimi K3 uses a similar revenue-share approach of up to 30 percent.
Alibaba is preparing a new commercial approach for its next open-source AI model, Qwen3.8-Max: large users that build substantial revenue-generating services on the model would be required to share part of those earnings with the company.
How the proposed terms would work
Although Qwen3.8-Max will be made available under an open-source license so developers can download, run and adapt the system, Alibaba plans to impose commercial conditions on the biggest corporate users. The move is aimed at companies that turn the model into a large-scale commercial product or service.
Until now Alibaba typically billed customers who accessed its AI models through its cloud platform, while firms that deployed models inside their own data centers usually did not pay a direct license fee. The proposed revenue-sharing mechanism would change that dynamic for major commercial deployments.
The approach resembles licensing recently introduced by the Chinese AI startup Moonshot for its model, Kimi K3, where firms that operate the model as a commercial service and exceed a revenue threshold must sign revenue-sharing agreements — with Moonshot seeking up to 30 percent of revenue in some cases.
Industry observers say the step reflects a broader search by Chinese AI companies for a balance between open access and sustainable monetization, as several domestic models approach the capabilities of leading US offerings from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.
Alibaba has been increasing investment in artificial intelligence after reporting a 34 percent jump in revenue, and the company’s new licensing stance could signal a shift away from the era of fully free open-source models toward hybrid commercial arrangements.
Photo: EPA-EFE/ALEKSANDAR PLAVEVSKI
