American tech giant Meta Platforms is reportedly using an open-source artificial intelligence model developed by Alibaba Group Holding to reinvigorate its faltering AI efforts in another likely win for Chinese AI.
According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, Facebook owner Meta was using Alibaba’s Qwen model, along with other open-source models from Google and OpenAI, as part of the training process for a new model code-named Avocado, which was expected to be released in the spring.
The report did not specify which Alibaba Qwen model was being used.
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Bloomberg reported that Meta’s new model would mark a departure from its previous strategy of open-sourcing its models, meaning that users would only be able to access the model through an official application programming interface, or API. Meta has not officially announced a change of AI strategy from its open-source Llama models to a closed-source, revenue-generating model.
Qwen is the world’s most popular series of open-source large language models, with many US businesses using the model to develop their own applications. Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based online accommodation booking giant Airbnb, said the company “relies heavily” on Alibaba’s Qwen models to power its AI-driven customer-service agent. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
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Alibaba’s shares fell 1.7 per cent in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Meta’s AI efforts have been the subject of much scrutiny after the tech giant went on a spending spree over the summer to poach talent from rival firms, including reports of signing bonuses reaching US$100 million.
