Qwen

Qwen by Alibaba in 2026: Free Open-Source AI for Business

While managers pay for ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro, Alibaba has quietly built one of the most powerful — and free — AI ecosystems in the world. Qwen (pronounced “chwen”, from 通义千问 – “A Thousand Questions”) had, by March 2026, surpassed all Western competitors in download counts and become a tool every manager should know — especially if cost or data control has ever been on the agenda.