Alibaba unveils new AI chip to challenge NVIDIA, plans Qwen models with up to 10 trillion parameters

Alibaba has unveiled its new Zhenwu V900 AI chip, which it says delivers three times the performance of its predecessor. The company is also developing future Qwen AI models with up to 10 trillion parameters to handle more complex tasks.

Alibaba Group continues its artificial intelligence efforts with the introduction of a new AI chip and plans to produce much larger Qwen models. The announcement was made by the Chinese technology giant during its annual Apsara Conference in Hangzhou, China, on Tuesday. The company is working on more complex tasks with future AI models of up to 10 trillion parameters, reported by Reuters.

Alibaba also announced the Zhenwu V900, the company's next-gen AI processor manufactured by its semiconductor arm, T-Head. The chip boasts three times the performance of its predecessor, the company said, and will enable scaling up AI model training and deployment in the real world. The announcements have been made as companies in China look for ways to circumvent stricter US export controls on NVIDIA chips.

Qwen models could reach 10 trillion parameters

Alibaba's Qwen team will create models ranging from 5 trillion to 10 trillion parameters, said its CEO, Eddie Wu. Alibaba announced that its next-generation Qwen 4 is already in training and that further scaling of Qwen 4.5 and Qwen 5 is coming.

Currently, Alibaba's flagship model Qwen features approximately 2.4 trillion parameters, Reuters reported. Wu said the larger models are being developed to tackle longer and more complex tasks as Alibaba works towards what it describes as artificial superintelligence.

New Zhenwu V900 chip targets AI workloads

The Zhenwu V900 is engineered to boost performance on hefty AI tasks. Alibaba has announced it can deliver three times the performance of the previous Zhenwu M890 chip, which was launched in May 2026.

Pragya Singha Roy