Alibaba Group’s Qwen is now the world’s most-downloaded and fine-tuned open-source AI model, surpassing Meta Platforms’ Llama. According to a 2025 report, the Qwen 3 model family has exceeded 600 million downloads. This milestone signals a significant shift in the AI development landscape.
Qwen is establishing itself as a preferred model, particularly for tasks requiring multilingual capabilities. The model is gaining traction in the U.S. enterprise market. Companies like Airbnb utilize Qwen specifically for its speed and cost-effectiveness.
The model’s popularity extends to consumer applications. Its public beta, launched in November, quickly amassed 30 million monthly active users.
This rapid adoption contributes to a broader trend: Chinese open-source models now account for 30% of total global usage. This represents a substantial increase from just 1.2% recorded at the end of 2024.