Not Just DeepSeek - Alibaba Unveils AI Model To Rival OpenAI's Operator

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) has made waves in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector with the recent unveiling of its Qwen2.5-VL series, a family of advanced AI models designed to rival OpenAI's Operator. The Chinese tech giant's latest offering is a testament to its commitment to staying at the forefront of AI innovation and competing with global tech giants.

The Qwen2.5-VL series, announced on Monday, January 27, 2025, boasts an impressive array of capabilities, including the ability to parse files, comprehend videos, count objects in images, and control a PC. According to the Qwen team's benchmarking, the best Qwen2.5-VL model outperforms major players like OpenAI's GPT-4o, Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash in various video understanding, math, document analysis, and question-answering evaluations (TechCrunch, 2025).



Alibaba's Qwen2.5-VL models can analyze charts and graphics, extract data from scans of invoices and forms, and comprehend multiple-hours-long videos. They can also recognize intellectual property from films and TV series, as well as a wide variety of products. In terms of real-world applications, a video posted on X by Philipp Schmid, a technical lead at Hugging Face, demonstrated Qwen2.5-VL launching the Booking.com app for Android and booking a flight from Chongqing to Beijing (TechCrunch, 2025).

However, the Qwen2.5-VL models' performance on desktop environments showed room for improvement, scoring low on OSWorld benchmarks that mimic real computer operations. This suggests that while the models have impressive capabilities, they may not yet be as proficient as OpenAI's Operator in controlling a PC in a real-world environment.

Alibaba's Qwen2.5-VL series represents a significant step forward in the company's AI capabilities and underscores its commitment to competing with global tech giants like OpenAI. As the AI sector continues to evolve, Alibaba's latest offering demonstrates its ability to innovate and adapt to the rapidly changing landscape. Investors should keep a close eye on Alibaba's AI developments as the company continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in AI technology.

Important note: Investors are reminded to do their due diligence and not rely on the information provided as financial advice. Consider this article as supplementing your required research. Please always apply independent thinking.