Alibaba Group (BABA) has revealed a new open-source AI model called “Qwen3-Coder” for software development. The company described it as its most advanced coding tool yet, designed to help developers with tasks such as writing, editing, and managing code.
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The release comes as Chinese tech companies race to match the rapid pace of AI development in the U.S. Firms like Baidu (BIDU), Tencent (TCEHY), and Alibaba are investing heavily in models that can compete with tools like OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude.
What Sets Qwen3-Coder Apart
Alibaba’s latest coding model, Qwen3-Coder, is built to handle large-scale software development tasks. It includes 480 billion parameters, with 35 billion active during actual use, allowing it to process long code sequences.
To support its use, the model is available as open source and works through Qwen Code, a command-line tool adapted from Gemini Code. This tool offers a structured way to interact with the model, particularly for tasks that involve complex prompts or code execution.
Developers can access Qwen3-Coder via API through Alibaba Cloud. Looking ahead, the company plans to develop smaller versions aimed at lowering deployment costs.
As for performance, Alibaba’s benchmark results showed that Qwen3-Coder outperformed other Chinese models like DeepSeek and Moonshot AI’s K2. It also held up well against leading U.S. coding models in certain benchmarks.
Alibaba Targets Global Developers with Qwen3 Line
Qwen3-Coder is part of Alibaba’s larger Qwen3 model lineup, all released as open-source under the Apache 2.0 license.
By making its models freely available, Alibaba aims to attract more developers and build a stronger AI ecosystem beyond China.
Is Alibaba Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Analysts remain highly bullish about Alibaba’s stock trajectory. With 14 Buy ratings and one Hold rating, BABA stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. Also, the average Alibaba price target of $151.81 implies about 25.76% upside potential from current levels.
