Alibaba is planning to ask heavy commercial users of its next-generation Qwen open-source AI model to share a portion of their revenue, according to Reuters. The proposed model mirrors the one behind Moonshot AI's Kimi K3, which requires companies selling the model as a service with annual revenue above $20 million to negotiate a commercial agreement, with reported revenue-sharing of up to 30%. Alibaba's specific ratio is still being discussed. The report notes that such revenue-sharing deals are emerging between Chinese AI firms and U.S. cloud platforms, with DigitalOcean and others already signing agreements with Moonshot AI. On pricing, Kimi K3's input/output token costs are about one-third of Anthropic's Fable model. In a related development, Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has entered the open-source arena with its first open-source model last month. These moves signal that Chinese AI companies are pursuing a "freemium" path to sustainable commercialization in open-source AI.
Alibaba plans to require heavy commercial users of its next-generation Qwen open-source AI model to share a portion of their revenue, Reuters reported. The exact revenue-sharing percentage has yet to be decided.
The proposal follows a model already adopted by Moonshot AI for Kimi K3. Under that model's licensing terms, if a company sells the model as a service and generates more than $20 million in annual revenue, it must negotiate a commercial agreement with Moonshot AI, with reported revenue-sharing of up to 30%. Alibaba's specific terms are still under discussion.
Reuters noted that such revenue-sharing arrangements are gradually taking shape between Chinese AI companies and U.S. cloud platforms. Several U.S. cloud providers, including DigitalOcean, have signed commercial agreements with Moonshot AI. On pricing, Kimi K3's input/output token prices are roughly one-third of Anthropic's Fable model.
Separately, Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has also joined the open-source camp, releasing its first open-source model last month. These moves point to Chinese AI companies exploring sustainable commercialization of open-source models through a "freemium" approach that combines free open-source distribution with paid commercial licensing.
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