Alibaba launches AI models designed for robots
What's the story
Alibaba Group has launched its first suite of artificial intelligence (AI) models specifically designed for robots. The move comes as part of a larger trend among Chinese tech companies, who are now focusing on "agentic" systems. These are advanced AI models capable of planning, tool usage, and multi-step actions with minimal human intervention. The launch is also part of Alibaba's broader strategy to integrate AI into physical machines beyond just chatbots.
Model expansion
Competing with ByteDance and Baidu
The latest launch of AI models for robots comes as part of Alibaba's Qwen family, a major player in the company's AI portfolio. The move is aimed at taking on rivals like ByteDance, Baidu, and DeepSeek in the race for large language models (LLMs), chatbots, and AI agents. Back in February, Alibaba had launched Qwen 3.5 as a model designed for the "agentic AI era," capable of handling complex tasks across mobile and desktop apps.
Tech specs
What are embodied AI systems?
AI models designed for robots are usually meant to help machines interpret visual data, follow instructions, plan movements, and act in the real world. These systems are often called embodied AI or physical AI. Alibaba's research arm DAMO Academy had previously unveiled RynnBrain, an open-source embodied foundation model for robotics based on Qwen3-VL. The model was built for environmental cognition, spatial understanding, and task planning.