Alibaba Group Holding’s open-weight AI models have surpassed 3 billion global downloads in the past six months, overtaking Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. to become the world’s most downloaded artificial intelligence model family, according to a report published on August 14. Alibaba’s Qwen models have been downloaded more than 3 billion times, compared to Google’s 418 million and Meta’s 227 million, data from Hugging Face Inc. shows.
Alibaba has open-sourced over 460 models within its Qwen family, which has generated more than 300,000 derivative models, the company said in an emailed statement. These open models allow developers to download, customize, and build new AI products, making them a key indicator of technology adoption. The rapid growth of Qwen’s ecosystem highlights Alibaba’s strategy to offer capable, affordable, and adaptable AI models that appeal to developers beyond China’s borders.
The surge in downloads underscores the intensifying competition in the US-China AI race, where Chinese firms like Alibaba, Moonshot AI Inc., and DeepSeek are closing the performance gap with US-based closed models such as those from OpenAI Inc. and Anthropic PBC. Despite export controls and recent restrictions on overseas access to some US AI models, Chinese AI builders continue to expand their influence globally by providing accessible alternatives that developers prefer for innovation and customization.
The latest download figures were published by Hugging Face Inc. on August 14, marking a significant milestone in the global AI landscape and reflecting Alibaba’s growing role as a leading AI model provider worldwide.