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Qwen3.8-Max is a 2.4T-parameter flagship model that would have been the top open model in the world but for the Kimi K3 release, and Alibaba has promised to open-weight both it and the 27B variant.
After a year of doubt over whether Alibaba would keep releasing relevant open models, Qwen is 'so back' with a monster 2.4T flagship, Qwen3.8-Max, priced at $2/$6 input/output, with open weights promised for both it and a 27B model. ✦ AI generated
AINews · Latent Space · 2026-08-04 · original ↗
After the Qwen Exodus last year and new management took over launching more closed model APIs, there was some real doubt as to whether or not this leading open models lab would continue to release relevant models. That doubt is now gone. Qwen 3.8 Max is a MONSTER 2.4T model that would have been the top open model in the world but for the Kimi K3 release we already covered. Qwen offers them on API for $2 input/$6 output per million tokens, but they have promised to open-weight both models.
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- ·2.4T parameters — massive flagship release
- ·Would be top open model if not for Kimi K3
- ·Alibaba promises open-weight release for both models
- ·Ends doubt over Qwen's open-model commitment
- ·$2 input / $6 output per million tokens
- ·Competitive positioning for a 2.4T flagship
- ·27B variant also getting open weights
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provides context → The infrastructure reality is that 'open-weight' does not mean easy to run: a 2.4T-class MoE like Qwen3.8-Max is not a commodity local model, requiring massive memory and accelerator counts similar to Kimi K3.AINews · Latent Spaceprovides context → The licensing ambiguity is the most concrete skeptical reaction: a flagged license prohibition covering the USA, EU, UK, and Korea would mean 'open weights' lacks OSI-style rights, imposes use-case and jurisdiction restrictions, and may forbid even downloading the model from the US.AINews · Latent Space