Alibaba Launches Qwen3.5 AI Model Targeting Agent AI Era

Alibaba unveiled Qwen3.5 on February 15, 2026, designed for autonomous complex task execution in the agent AI era. The model offers 60% lower inference costs and 8x greater throughput than its predecessor, with new visual agent capabilities enabling cross-device action across mobile and desktop apps. Benchmarks show Qwen3.5 outperforms prior versions and competes with leading models including GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, and Gemini 3 Pro. The release intensifies competition in China's AI market, following ByteDance's Doubao 2.0 upgrade. Alibaba is also expanding its Qwen chatbot app, using coupon campaigns to drive a sevenfold increase in active users for in-app food and beverage purchases, though some system issues occurred.