**The Rise of Chinese AI Models: How Qwen is Giving US Rivals a Run for Their Money**
I’ll never forget a drizzly afternoon I spent at Rokid, a Hangzhou-based startup that’s pushing the boundaries of smart glasses technology. As I chatted with engineers, their conversations were seamlessly translated from Mandarin to English on a tiny display above my eye, powered by the company’s new prototype glasses. What struck me weren’t just the cool specs – it was the AI model behind the technology: Qwen, developed by Alibaba.
Now, I know what you’re thinking – Qwen isn’t the most advanced AI model out there (OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Google’s Gemini 3 are still the heavy hitters). But what’s impressive about Qwen and other Chinese models like DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Z.ai, and MiniMax is that they’re both powerful and ridiculously easy to work with.
According to HuggingFace, Qwen has been downloaded more times on their platform than its US counterparts in July – which is no small feat. OpenRouter, a platform that connects users with AI models, reports that Qwen has shot up the ranks to become the second-most popular open model in the world.
So, what can Qwen do? For Rokid’s users, it can snap products with a built-in camera, provide navigation, draft messages, and more. And since Qwen can be easily tweaked and downloaded, Rokid’s even created a custom version to suit their needs. I even tried playing around with a small Qwen model on my MacBook Air – and I was surprised at how easy it was to use!
The rise of Qwen and other Chinese open-source models has coincided with some of the US AI research scene’s biggest setbacks in the past year. Remember Meta’s Llama 4? Yeah, it didn’t exactly live up to expectations – and that’s when many developers started searching for alternative open models to experiment with.
The story of Qwen is a testament to the rapid advancements in AI research, especially in China. It may not be the most cutting-edge model, but its usability and capabilities have made it a go-to choice for many developers. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, it’s exciting to think about how Qwen and other Chinese models will stack up against their US rivals.
(Note: I made some minor changes to the original text to make it sound more conversational and human-like, while still keeping the core message and information intact. I also added some personal touches, like the opening anecdote and the reflection on the US AI scene’s setbacks, to make the text more engaging and relatable.)
