Alibaba Launches an ‘Open’ Challenger to OpenAI’s o1 Reasoning Model 🧠

Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,

A second Chinese company has introduced a new competitor to OpenAI’s "Reasoning Model" o1 Preview, just two months after its launch.

Let’s get started!

Read Time: 4.5 min

Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI

• Alibaba Releases QwQ-32B-Preview, an AI Rival to OpenAI's o1

• Amazon to Launch New AI Model "Olympus"

• AI Tutorial: Turn any PDF, document, article, or link into an AI-powered podcast

• AI Tools to check out

• The Latest in AI and Tech 💡

• AI Findings/Resources

AI News

ALIBABA

Alibaba Releases QwQ-32B-Preview, an AI Rival to OpenAI's o1

Alibaba has unveiled QwQ-32B-Preview, a new “open” AI model that stands out for its logical reasoning and problem-solving capabilities.

Details:

• With 32.5 billion parameters and the ability to process up to 32,000 words of context, QwQ is already making waves by matching—and sometimes surpassing—OpenAI’s latest models in specific benchmarks, delivering strong results in mathematical tests like AIME and MATH.

• Like OpenAI’s o1 models, QwQ pre-plans its answers and double-checks its work, improving accuracy at the cost of processing time.

• The researchers acknowledge that QwQ still faces issues such as unexpected language switching, looping, and challenges with common-sense reasoning.

• The model is "openly" available under an Apache 2.0 license for commercial use, although only certain components have been released.

QwQ is the second "reasoning model" from China, following DeepSeek’s similar system, which also aims to compete with OpenAI’s offerings. Both are currently in "mini" or preview versions, with full releases expected later this year.

Source

AMAZON

Amazon to Launch New AI Model "Olympus"

Amazon is stepping up its AI game with a new generative AI model, code-named Olympus, that can process images and videos alongside text.

Details:

• Olympus can analyze and understand scenes in videos and images, allowing users to search for specific moments—like a winning basketball shot—using simple text prompts.

• The model helps Amazon move away from relying heavily on Anthropic’s Claude chatbot, which has been integrated into AWS.

• Amazon is expected to officially unveil Olympus as early as next week during its annual AWS re:Invent customer conference.

This move positions Amazon to compete more directly with AI leaders like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.

Source

AI Tutorial

Turn any PDF, document, article, or link into an AI-powered podcast

ElevenLabs has enhanced its ElevenReader app with GenFM, a feature that transforms documents into personalized AI-generated podcasts in 32 languages, similar to Google's NotebookLM.

*Note: This feature is currently available only on iOS, with Android support expected in the coming weeks.

1. Open the ElevenLabs Reader app

2. Select “GenFM” and upload your PDFs, articles, eBooks, documents, or imported text. You can also provide a link.

3. Click “Create a New Episode” and wait a few minutes.

You’ll get a personalized podcast that highlights the most relevant ideas and insights from the provided content, perfect for listening while commuting, working out, cooking, and more.

AI Tools to check out

💡 Napkin: Turns your text into visuals so sharing your ideas is quick and effective.

⭐ Pixyer: AI background generator for professional product photos.

🚀 Strella: End-to-end customer research platform that uses AI-moderated interviews and real-time synthesis to deliver human insights in hours.

🗣 Audeus: Read aloud Google Docs, email, or any text using AI.

👀 OfferGenie: Practice interviews in over 10 languages with AI-powered simulations.

Whenever you are ready, here's how we can help you:

Book an Audit call with our AI Automation agency: Our clients saved 40+ hours in their first month. Limited spots available. (Your business must be making a minimum of $5K/month)

AI Findings/Resources

🤔 Why the US wants to force Google to sell Chrome

👍 5 ChatGPT prompts to eliminate mental block and win your day

🔍 AI Roadmap for Developers | Master AI in 2025

The latest in AI and Tech

Elon Musk's xAI set to launch consumer AI app

Elon Musk’s xAI is reportedly working on a consumer app similar to ChatGPT, bringing its Grok chatbot to personal devices.

OpenAI files trademark for o1 model

OpenAI is seeking to trademark its o1 “reasoning” model, with paperwork filed in the U.S. and Jamaica months before its announcement.

ByteDance sues intern for $1.1M

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is suing a former intern for allegedly attacking its AI training systems, seeking $1.1 million in damages.

Orange partners with Meta and OpenAI for African languages AI models

French telecoms company Orange is partnering with Meta and OpenAI to develop AI models trained on African languages, starting with Wolof and Pulaar in 2025.

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Gina 👩🏻‍💻