Huawei Denies Copying Alibaba's AI Model: Inside China's Escalating Tech Cold War
Breaking: Huawei's AI research lab faces explosive allegations that its flagship Pangu Pro model copied Alibaba's Qwen architecture—a claim Huawei vehemently denies. The controversy exposes deepening fractures in China's $150B AI industry as U.S. sanctions reshape the competitive landscape.
The Core Allegations: "Extraordinary Correlation"
The Accusation
Anonymous research group HonestAGI published analysis claiming:
- A 0.927 correlation coefficient between Huawei's Pangu Pro MoE and Alibaba's Qwen 2.5 14B models
- Evidence of "upcycling" Qwen's architecture rather than original training
- Undisclosed derivation masked as "independent innovation"
Huawei's Defense
Noah's Ark Lab (Huawei's AI division) countered:
- "Pangu Pro MoE was developed entirely on Huawei's Ascend AI chips"
- Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) innovations represent genuine breakthroughs
- All open-source components were properly licensed
The Strategic Stakes
| Aspect | Huawei's Pangu Pro MoE | Alibaba's Qwen 2.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Target Users | Government, finance, manufacturing | Consumers, chatbots |
| Deployment | Enterprise solutions, secure servers | PCs, smartphones, open-source |
| Hardware | Fully Ascend-based | Hybrid (Nvidia/Huawei chips) |
| Adoption | Low public uptake, high-govt contracts | 40M+ downloads |
"This feud isn't about one model—it's about whether China's AI ecosystem can balance speed with integrity. Huawei and Alibaba must choose: collaborate or cannibalize."
Industry Fallout & Whistleblower Claims
Insider Revelations
An alleged Huawei engineer claimed:
"Leadership cloned Qwen-1.5 (110B), wrapped it in extra layers, and rebranded it as Pangu 'V2'—with code still referencing 'Qwen' internally."
Broader Implications
- Trust crisis: Developers question reliability of Chinese LLMs
- Transparency deficit: Neither party fully disclosed methods/data
- Market fragmentation: China's "unified front" against Western rivals fractures
China's AI Crossroads
Three Critical Pressure Points
- DeepSeek's Disruption: Open-source R1 model ignited price war
- Regulatory Thunderclouds: Texas/EU laws may exclude opaque AI systems
- Global Expansion Race: Alibaba's SEA data centers vs Huawei's govt deals
What's Next?
- Huawei: Must release training logs to rebuild trust
- Alibaba: Needs to clarify Qwen's licensing terms
- Developers: Should demand parameter-level watermarking
Unanswered: Who is HonestAGI? Why did Alibaba stay silent? Can Ascend chips outperform Nvidia?
Tags
AI model plagiarism
Alibaba Qwen 2.5 AI
Did Huawei copy Alibaba's AI?
Huawei Pangu Pro MoE
Pangu vs Qwen performance comparison