Alibaba's Qwen3.8 models drop with revenue share twist
Alibaba releases Qwen3.8-Max and Qwen3.8-27B open weights... but commercial users must share revenue
Alibaba has officially open-sourced its Qwen3.8-Max and Qwen3.8-27B models, marking a significant milestone in open AI development. The Qwen3.8-Max, boasting 2.4 trillion parameters, is now available under a new commercial license that requires major users to share a portion of their revenue. This policy mirrors Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 license model, signaling a shift toward monetization of open models.
The Qwen3.8-27B model, while smaller, remains a formidable open-source option with competitive performance. Both models were released on August 12, 2026, and are designed to democratize access to cutting-edge AI while ensuring Alibaba benefits from commercial adoption. The move underscores the growing tension between open-source ideals and sustainable AI business models.
- Alibaba released Qwen3.8-Max (2.4T params) and Qwen3.8-27B with open weights on August 12, 2026
- Commercial users of Qwen3.8-Max must share revenue under a new licensing policy
- Policy mirrors Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 license, balancing open access with monetization
Why It Matters
Shapes the future of open-source AI economics by tying commercial adoption to revenue sharing