Highlights
- Advanced AI Capabilities: Qwen2.5-VL outperforms models such as GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet in document analysis, video comprehension, and software interaction.
- Benchmark Performance: According to internal testing, Qwen2.5-VL outperforms top AI models in tasks involving question-answering, mathematical problem-solving, and video comprehension.
- Intellectual Property and Regulatory Concerns: Legal concerns are raised by the model’s capacity to identify copyrighted content, and Chinese internet laws govern its application.
- Licensing and Software Control: Alibaba maintains control over the deployment of AI by requiring approval for large-scale commercial use, while smaller variants are subject to a permissive license.
Alibaba AI research division, Qwen2.5-VL, has introduced its latest family of AI models, Qwen2.5-VL.
Brief Introduction
Models like these are designed to perform advanced text and image analysis tasks, positioning Alibaba AI as a strong competitor in the AI landscape. The Qwen2.5-VL models can analyze documents, comprehend videos, count objects in images, and even control a PC. mirroring capabilities seen in OpenAI’s Operator.
Performance and Benchmarking
According to the internal benchmarking by the Qwen team, Qwen2.5-VL surpasses leading AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash.

The model excels in video comprehension, mathematical problem-solving, document analysis, and question-answering tasks. Available for testing through Alibaba Qwen Chat App, and for download on Hugging Face, Qwen2.5-VL boasts capabilities such as analyzing charts, extracting data from scanned invoices and forms, and processing lengthy video content.
Capabilities and Potential Concerns
One of the standout features of Qwen2.5-VL is its ability to recognize intellectual properties from films, TV series, and various products. This suggests that the model may have been trained on copyrighted content, raising potential legal concerns.
Furthermore, given that the model is developed in China, it adheres to local internet regulations. Qwen Chat imposes restrictions on politically sensitive topics, such as criticism of Chinese leadership or discussions on Taiwan’s autonomy in compliance with regulatory standards.
Software Interaction and Licensing
Qwen2.5-VL demonstrates an advanced ability to interact with software across different platforms. In a demonstration shared by Hugging Face’s technical lead Philipp Schmid, the model successfully launched the Booking.com app on Android and booked a flight from Chongqing to Beijing.
Conclusion
The flagship Qwen2.5-VL-72B model is subject to Alibaba’s unique licensing terms, whilst the smaller variants, Qwen2.5-VL-3B and Qwen2.5-VL-7B, are issued under a permissive license. Alibaba’s control over the distribution and use of the technology is strengthened by the requirement that organizations with more than 100 million monthly active users obtain approval before deploying it commercially.