- AI Business Asia
- Posts
- š¤ Qwen 2.5 Max vs. OpenAI
š¤ Qwen 2.5 Max vs. OpenAI
Big moves from OpenAI, Amazon, and Alibabaāwhoās winning?

Hello AI Innovators.
Big Tech is moving fast, but is it moving smart? š¤
Google just gave Gemini a serious upgrade (because apparently, it needed more brains), Amazonās cooking up a next-gen Alexa, and OpenAI is expanding in Asia like itās on a world tour.
Ever feel like the world is moving at 2x speed and youāre just trying to keep up?
But hey, thatās why weāre hereāto break it all down.
Letās get into it. š
In todayās newsletter ā¬ļø :
š§ Google supercharges Geminiāsmarter than ever?
š Amazonās Alexa upgrade is finally here!
āļø China vs. Intel? Antitrust probe incoming
š OpenAI goes big in Asia with Kakao deal.
š„ Qwen 2.5 Max Just DroppedāIs OpenAI in Trouble?
Your Voice AI Agent, Just a Few Clicks Away
Want to have a calling assistant that takes calls 24/7 and performs routine tasks real-time booking and lead qualification but donāt know where to start? Browse through a library of ready-made templates of AI Agents ā proven in Real-Life Scenarios & tailored to industries like real estate, healthcare, and more.
With features like real-time booking and lead qualification, you can get started fastāor even create and sell your own template to earn commission!

The News: East Meets West
News from The WEST š:
š¤ Google Gives Gemini a Brain Boost
Google has launched new AI models that bring āthinkingā capabilities to Gemini, making it more advanced in reasoning and problem-solving. The update aims to rival OpenAIās GPT-4 and push Google deeper into the AI arms race.
š” Why It Matters: AI models are getting smarter, and Googleās move signals a major push to keep up with OpenAI and DeepSeek.
š Read Moreš Amazonās Next-Gen Alexa is Coming
Amazon is reportedly gearing up to release a major Alexa upgrade, making its AI assistant more conversational and proactive. The revamp could redefine voice assistants, integrating more advanced AI capabilities.
š” Why It Matters: Alexa has been lagging behind ChatGPT and Google Assistantāthis update might be its big comeback.
š Read Moreāļø Google lifts ban on using its AI for weapons and surveillance
Google has updated its Responsible AI Principles, aiming to balance innovation with ethical considerations. The company is fine-tuning how it develops and deploys AI, emphasizing fairness, safety, and transparency.
š” Why It Matters: With AIās rapid evolution, Googleās updated principles could set the tone for industry-wide ethical standardsāor spark debates on whether Big Tech is doing enough.
š Read More
Can Big Tech Self-Regulate AI? |
News from The EAST š:
šØš³ China May Probe Intel for Antitrust Violations
China is reportedly considering an antitrust investigation into Intel, following increased scrutiny over foreign chipmakers. The probe could impact Intelās market position in China, a key revenue driver.
š” Why It Matters: If China proceeds, it could escalate tensions in the global chip war, potentially reshaping Intelās operations and semiconductor trade dynamics.
š¤ OpenAI Expands in Asia, Partners with Koreaās Kakao
Fresh off its SoftBank partnership in Japan, OpenAI is now teaming up with Kakao, South Koreaās biggest internet company. This move strengthens OpenAIās foothold in Asia, bringing ChatGPT-powered AI services deeper into the region.
š” Why It Matters: OpenAI isnāt just looking westāits growing Asian footprint signals a major AI expansion play, challenging local rivals.
š Read Moreš° SoftBank-Backed Billionaire Invests $230M in Indiaās Krutrim AI
Indian AI startup Krutrim, founded by Olaās Bhavish Aggarwal, has secured a massive $230M investment, led by SoftBank-backed billionaire Vinod Khosla. This cements Krutrim as Indiaās highest-funded AI startup to date.
š” Why It Matters: India is emerging as a serious AI powerhouse, with major backing from both domestic and global investors.
š Read More

š„ Qwen 2.5 Max Just DroppedāIs OpenAI in Trouble?

Just when the AI battle was heating up between OpenAI and DeepSeek, Alibaba decided to drop its own bombshellāQwen 2.5 Max. With a 128K token context window, insane reasoning skills, and a cost that undercuts GPT-4o by 10x, this open-source beast has everyone asking: Is this the new AI king?
ā” Key Intel:
128K token window ā Handles massive documents effortlessly.
Superior reasoning ā Scores 89.4% on Arena-Hard, outperforming DeepSeek.
Multimodal capabilities ā Text, code, images, and videos.
Dirt cheap pricing ā At $0.38 per million tokens, itās a 10x cheaper alternative to GPT-4o.
Specialized versions ā AI-powered coding (Qwen2.5-Coder), advanced math (Qwen2.5-Math), and image generation (Qwen2.5-Image).
š”Why It Matters:
Alibaba just made high-performance AI accessible and affordableāputting OpenAI and DeepSeek on high alert. If youāre a developer, business, or researcher looking for an open-source ChatGPT alternative that wonāt drain your wallet, Qwen 2.5 Max is worth your attention.
Will You Switch to Qwen 2.5 Max? |
DeepSeek Just Shook the AI WorldāBut Whoās Really Losing? š¤

DeepSeek didnāt just shake up AIāit shook the markets. Within days of its launch, the open-source model sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling, wiping out nearly $600B in value. Nvidia, the poster child of AI hardware, saw a 17% drop, the biggest single-day market cap loss in U.S. history. But hereās the twist: is Nvidia really the biggest loser?
ā”ļøKey Intel:
DeepSeekās low-cost model (1% of Llama 3ās training cost) sent investors into panic mode, questioning the future of high-cost AI computing.
OpenAI, feeling the pressure, dropped its first-ever free inference model (o3-mini)āa clear sign that DeepSeek is forcing even closed-source AI giants to adapt.
Despite fears of a GPU spending peak, Big Tech is doubling down on AI investmentāMicrosoft, Google, and Meta have all increased their AI budgets to record highs in 2025.
š”Why It Matters:
While Nvidiaās stock took a hit, analysts say this isnāt the end for AI hardware spending. Instead, the rise of open-source AI could reshape the balance of power in AI, forcing companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to rethink their entire strategy. The real losers? Letās find out.

š Trending AI Tools
Krea AI 3D - Turn any image into a 3D object to manipulate in other scenes.
Humva - Create free customised avatars with thousands of templates for social media, product intros, and more.
Cubby- AI workspace built for collaborative research.
Lindy- Build AI agents to automate your workflows.
š AI Resources

How would you rate todayās newsletter? |
Whether itās improving your SEO, launching on platforms like Product Hunt, managing newsletters, or building a strong LinkedIn presence, weāre here to help. Curious to see how we can work together?
Until next time!
Leo & Lex
Reply