Alibaba Cloud's Qwen series has launched its first dedicated image generation model, Qwen-Image, which became available on platforms like ModelScope and Hugging Face on August 4, 2025. The release marks a significant step in the Qwen ecosystem's expansion into visual AI, promising advancements in complex text rendering and precise image editing. Technology enthusiast Simon Willison highlighted the model's capabilities on social media, stating, > "You can try out Qwen's first image model on ModelScope here: https://t.co/vW08zuuXSc. Here's what I got for 'A raccoon holding a sign that says "I love trash" that was written by that raccoon' https://t.co/KaI5bJjS6c." This demonstration underscored the model's unique ability to accurately render text within generated images.
Qwen-Image is the latest addition to Alibaba Cloud's comprehensive Qwen family, which encompasses a wide range of large language models (LLMs) and large multimodal models (LMMs). The Qwen series is known for its commitment to open-source development, making its models accessible on platforms like Hugging Face and ModelScope to foster community engagement and innovation in artificial intelligence. This new image foundation model, identified as a 20B MMDiT model, extends the series' reach into high-fidelity visual content creation.
A standout feature of Qwen-Image is its superior text rendering, capable of handling multi-line layouts, paragraph-level semantics, and fine-grained details in both alphabetic and logographic languages, including Chinese. The model also excels at general image generation, adapting fluidly to creative prompts across various artistic styles, from photorealistic scenes to anime aesthetics. Its robust performance in preserving semantic meaning and visual realism during editing operations further positions it as a versatile tool for visual content creation.
Evaluations indicate that Qwen-Image consistently outperforms existing models in text rendering benchmarks, particularly for Chinese text generation. This precision makes it a valuable asset for artists, designers, and storytellers seeking to integrate complex text directly into generated images. The model's release is expected to drive innovation in fields requiring sophisticated visual communication, from marketing materials to digital art, by offering a powerful solution for intelligent visual creation and manipulation.
The Qwen-Image model is now accessible for public use and experimentation via ModelScope and Hugging Face, allowing developers and researchers to explore its capabilities. As part of Alibaba Cloud's broader AI strategy, the continuous development and release of such advanced models underscore the company's aim to provide comprehensive AI solutions. The availability of Qwen-Image is poised to further democratize access to cutting-edge image generation technology.