Alibaba tests paid AI appetite with US$30 annual QwenWork subscription

Alibaba Group Holding has launched paid membership tiers for its QwenWork AI assistant, with annual plans ranging from 200 yuan (US$29.6) to 1,499 yuan, as the e-commerce giant tests willingness to pay for its digital assistant amid rising AI infrastructure costs. The Qwen app on Apple's App Store also offers extra video generation credits priced between 26 yuan and 968 yuan, while the Qwen chatbot remains free. Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Alibaba tests paid AI appetite with US$30 annual QwenWork subscription The e-commerce giant launches paid tiers for its QwenWork assistant as costs for artificial intelligence mount Minxiao Chang /author/minxiao-chang in Shenzhen QwenWork https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3362738/alibabas-ai-model-qwen38-max-made-widely-accessible-ahead-open-weights-release?module=inline&pgtype=article , as the Chinese technology giant tests whether businesses and consumers are ready to pay for its digital assistant. The e-commerce giant’s Qwen app now offers three membership tiers for QwenWork, with annual plans ranging from 200 yuan US$29.6 to 1,499 yuan for its flagship version, according to the listing on Apple’s App Store. Users can also buy extra video generation credits, priced between 26 yuan and 968 yuan, depending on usage limits. This comes after Alibaba earlier this month opened public testing for QwenWork, initially offering the work productivity AI agent free of charge to accelerate adoption. The Qwen chatbot remains free to use. Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. offsetting rising infrastructure costs https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3362384/ai-spending-soars-can-chinas-tech-giants-deliver-long-term-profits?module=inline&pgtype=article as the technology matures.