Alibaba Cloud Cuts AI Visual Model Pricing to Remain Competitive in the Market
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Alibaba Cloud Makes Bold Move with Qwen-vl-max Price Slash
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing division of Alibaba Group Holding, has delivered a significant new year’s discount to its users by lowering prices on its Qwen-vl-max visual reasoning AI model by up to 85%. This price cut, announced on the last day of 2024, is part of a larger trend as AI services' pricing wars escalate within China's tech landscape.
This is the third time Alibaba Cloud has reduced AI prices this year, positioning itself against challengers like ByteDance in efforts to attract users in a saturated market. Notably, Qwen-vl-max now costs just 0.003 yuan (US$0.00041) per thousand input token uses, aligning it closely with a similar model launched by ByteDance.
ByteDance has recently introduced its own model featuring advanced “visual understanding” capabilities, supporting industry-leading pricing. Tan Dai, President of ByteDance's Volcano Engine cloud unit, emphasized that their pricing was 85% lower than the industry average. These price reductions are expected to ignite further cuts across the landscape.
Emerging AI Services Amid Price Competition
As of November, Chinese authorities have authorized 252 generative AI services, triggering a marketplace where companies like Alibaba and ByteDance are compelled to slash prices to build customer bases and drive adoption.
- Deep discount offerings come not only from established giants like Alibaba and ByteDance, but also from well-financed startups like Zhipu AI and DeepSeek.
- Some startups provide tiered pricing with options for free access to basic services, increasing competitive pressure.
This article was prepared using information from open sources in accordance with the principles of Ethical Policy. The editorial team is not responsible for absolute accuracy, as it relies on data from the sources referenced.