ALIBABA SLASHES AUDIO AI PRICES 95%, LAUNCHES QWEN 3.1

The new lineup includes enhanced models for automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), and real-time audio interaction. Qwen-Audio-3.1's ASR model improves multilingual and dialect recognition while automatically removing filler words and repetitions. The ASR-Next variant adds multi-speaker identification with timestamps, emotion detection, and ambient sound classification. The TTS models handle multilingual speech synthesis, supporting diverse languages and accents. Along with the technical upgrades, Alibaba dramatically reduced pricing for its audio AI services. The price cuts make the models more accessible for developers and enterprises integrating audio capabilities into applications. The release positions Qwen among competitors like OpenAI and Google in the expanding audio AI market. Alibaba's aggressive pricing strategy mirrors its broader push to democratize AI access globally.