China’s AI Surge: Alibaba Qwen3.8-Max and DeepSeek’s Low-Cost Models Shake the Market

Alibaba has launched Qwen3.8-Max, a large language model featuring 2.4 trillion parameters, according to reporting from TechTalkThai.

Alibaba Qwen3.8-Max Parameter Scale

The Qwen3.8-Max model represents a substantial increase in scale for Alibaba’s AI ecosystem. TechTalkThai reports the model utilizes 2.4 trillion parameters, positioning it as a heavyweight competitor in the global generative AI market.

Market reaction to the announcement contributed to an increase in Alibaba’s share price, as noted by Investing.com.

DeepSeek Market Disruption and Cost Reductions

Concurrent with Alibaba’s expansion, DeepSeek has introduced new models designed to undercut the pricing of industry leaders. According to reports from การเงินธนาคาร and RYT9, DeepSeek’s new offerings are significantly cheaper to run than competing models. Specifically, การเงินธนาคาร reports that DeepSeek’s models can be run at a cost more than 100 times lower than Claude.

DeepSeek also launched V4-Flash, a model that RYT9 describes as one of the most cost-effective options among the world’s leading AI models.

Competitive Shift in Global AI Infrastructure

According to เดลินิวส์, DeepSeek’s cost structure is currently the lowest when compared to other AI models globally.