Alibaba releases Qwen 3.8, a 2.4 trillion parameter open-weight model claiming second place behind Fable 5
Alibaba has released Qwen 3.8, a 2.4 trillion parameter open-weight model that the company claims trails only Fable 5. The multimodal model processes images, videos, and documents, with a preview available through Alibaba's platforms at 10 percent of standard pricing.
Alibaba releases Qwen 3.8, a 2.4 trillion parameter open-weight model claiming second place behind Fable 5
Alibaba has released Qwen 3.8, an open-weight model with 2.4 trillion parameters. The company claims the model ranks second only to Fable 5 among frontier models, though no independent benchmark results have been published.
The model is currently available as a preview through Alibaba's Token Plan, Qoder, and QoderWork platforms at 10 percent of standard pricing. Open weights are scheduled for release "soon," according to Alibaba, though no specific date has been provided.
Technical specifications
Qwen 3.8 is Alibaba's first multimodal model exceeding 1 trillion parameters, according to developer Shuai Bai. The model processes images, videos, and documents alongside text. Alibaba claims improvements over Qwen 3.7-Max, particularly in coding tasks, full-stack development, data analysis, and office productivity workflows.
No benchmark scores, context window size, or standard pricing have been disclosed.
Market timing
The release appears strategically timed against Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model. While Moonshot has promised open weights for K3, the model currently remains accessible only through its chat app and API—a strategy that converts user interest into paying customers.
Moonshot AI reached $300 million in annual recurring revenue in June 2026 and plans to go public within six months, according to Bloomberg. Qwen's open-weight approach could undercut this business model by allowing developers to run the model independently.
What this means
The 2.4 trillion parameter count represents a significant scale increase, though without benchmark data, performance claims remain unverified. The open-weight release strategy directly challenges closed API business models, potentially forcing competitors to adjust pricing or access policies. The preview pricing at 90 percent discount suggests Alibaba is prioritizing rapid adoption over immediate revenue, likely aiming to establish market position before open weights eliminate API revenue entirely.
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