Open-source AI Built Qwen’s Reach. Alibaba Wants Cloud Cash

Three hundred million downloads and more than 100,000 derivative models is what success looks like in open-source AI—at least until someone in finance asks where the money is. Alibaba’s own filings say Qwen reached that scale, while AP and Bloomberg report the company is now chasing much harder numbers: cloud revenue up 34% on AI demand, and a target of $100 billion a year in AI and cloud revenue within five years. The easy reading is betrayal. Alibaba used openness to make Qwen famous, and now...