Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is reportedly preparing to introduce a revenue-sharing model for large commercial users of its upcoming open-source Qwen AI model.
Alibaba Reportedly Plans Revenue Sharing for Qwen 3.8-Max
Alibaba plans to require major commercial users of the next version of its open-source AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, to share a portion of the revenue they generate from the model, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the plans.
The model, expected to launch next week, will reportedly follow a licensing approach similar to Chinese AI startup Moonshot’s Kimi K3.
While the model’s weights will remain freely available for developers to download, enterprises generating significant revenue from commercial AI services may be required to negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement with Alibaba.
The exact percentage Alibaba intends to seek has not been finalized, according to the report.
Chinese AI Firms Shift Toward Freemium Business Model
Moonshot reportedly introduced a similar framework with Kimi K3 last month. Under its licensing terms, companies that generate more than $20 million in annual sales from services built on the model must enter into a commercial agreement with Moonshot.
The publication, citing one source, reported that Moonshot can seek revenue sharing of up to 30%.
Until now, Alibaba has primarily generated revenue by charging customers who access its AI models through Alibaba Cloud while allowing most developers to run open-source versions on their own infrastructure without additional licensing fees.
The reported policy change suggests Chinese AI developers are increasingly adopting a “freemium” strategy—offering open-source models to encourage widespread adoption while monetizing large-scale commercial deployments.
Alibaba and Moonshot AI did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Alibaba Tests New AI Monetization Model
The move highlights the evolving economics of open-source AI as Chinese companies compete with U.S. rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google.
While proprietary AI providers charge customers via API access, companies like Alibaba and Moonshot appear to preserve open access while seeking a share of revenue from enterprises that build profitable businesses on top of their models.
Industry executives told the publication that the approach mirrors longstanding open-source software business models, where enterprise customers pay for commercial rights, support and early access despite the underlying software remaining openly available.
Price Action: Shares of Alibaba closed at $126.81 on Thursday, down 1.34%, while after-hours trading saw the stock edge lower to $126.79, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Alibaba ranks in the 90th percentile for Value, although the stock has faced short- and medium-term weakness while maintaining positive long-term performance.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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