Alibaba Launches Qwen3.5 Model, Ushering in the ‘Agentic AI Era’

Alibaba has marked a significant advancement in artificial intelligence with the launch of its new model, Qwen 3.5. This model is engineered to perform complex tasks autonomously, showcasing substantial enhancements in performance and cost efficiency. Alibaba asserts that Qwen 3.5 outperforms prominent U.S. AI models in several critical benchmarks.

Key Features of Qwen 3.5

The release of Qwen 3.5 aims to bolster Alibaba’s position in the competitive Chinese AI market. With a focus on attracting users to its Qwen chatbot application, the company has introduced compelling features:

• 60% reduction in operational costs compared to its predecessor, Qwen 2.5-Max.
• Performance boost with an eightfold improvement in handling large workflows.
• Enhanced capabilities to execute actions across both mobile and desktop applications.

These advancements signal what Alibaba refers to as the “agentic AI era,” enabling developers and enterprises to achieve more efficient computing results.

Competitive Landscape

The AI landscape in China is still dominated by ByteDance’s Doubao, which recently launched an upgraded version, Doubao 2.0. This model boasts nearly 200 million users and is also tailored for the evolving AI agent era. Despite the stiff competition, Alibaba anticipates Qwen 3.5 will further solidify its market presence.

Recent Achievements

Earlier this month, Alibaba experienced a significant surge in user engagement for the Qwen chatbot. A promotional campaign offering coupons for food and drink increased active users seven-fold. This momentum reflects Alibaba’s proactive strategies against emerging competitors like DeepSeek, which gained notoriety last year for its groundbreaking AI technologies.

Technological Benchmarking

While Alibaba did not address DeepSeek directly in their announcement, it emphasized Qwen 3.5’s superiority over previous iterations and established U.S. models, including:

• GPT-5.2
• Claude Opus 4.5
• Gemini 3 Pro

As the competition intensifies, DeepSeek is expected to unveil its next-generation model shortly, generating significant anticipation in the tech sector.

In summary, Alibaba’s Qwen 3.5 aims to redefine the capabilities of AI in China and beyond. By offering innovative features and significant cost savings, the company seeks to position itself as a leader in the agentic AI domain.