Prime Highlights:
Alibaba has made four video generation models from its Wan2.1 AI series freely available to global users.
The models will be accessible through Alibaba Cloud’s Model Scope and Hugging Face, allowing use by researchers, academics, and businesses worldwide.
Key Background:
Alibaba announced that it is making its AI video generation models available for free across the globe, further consolidating its stronghold on the highly competitive AI space. The development is part of Alibaba’s latest base AI model in the Wan2.1 series, which is able to generate images and videos from text and image inputs. The four models of this series are open-sourced so that researchers, scholars, and business communities worldwide can use them via Alibaba Cloud’s Model Scope and Hugging Face, the world’s largest center of AI models.
By open sourcing these AI models, Alibaba aims to foster innovation and build a collaborative community around its technology. This is in stark contrast to proprietary models such as those developed by OpenAI, which are not freely available for modification or redistribution. Alibaba’s model release follows growing interest in open-source AI, most recently after Chinese firm DeepSeek’s splash in January releasing its AI models, trained for less and on cheaper hardware than the giants of AI. Open-source AI technologies have garnered considerable attention as they provide an opportunity for broader accessibility and collaboration in AI development. This contrasts with the commercial approach of proprietary models, which are designed to generate revenue for companies like OpenAI.
The decision to open-source AI models also sparks debate about whether AI technology will eventually become commoditized, with models being freely available for modification by anyone. Alibaba’s open-source AI project brings it on par with other technology leaders, such as Meta, which took the lead with its Llama models in the US. It is also consistent with Alibaba’s growth pattern overall, as its Hong Kong-listed shares climbed 66% in 2025 on the back of its books and growing status as a world-class player in AI in China.
