Usman Salis
Alibaba has entered the upper tier of AI video generation with its latest release, Wan 2.5 Preview. Landing at 5 on the text-to-video leaderboard, this model represents the company's most competitive offering yet and signals its ambition to challenge global leaders in generative AI. Unlike previous open-source releases, Wan 2.5 adopts a closed-weight, API-only approach that prioritizes monetization and enterprise integration.
Strong Debut with Strategic Shift
According to AI benchmarking platform Artificial Analysis trader's recent update, Wan 2.5 achieved an ELO score of 1,190, outperforming Bytedance's Waver 1.0 and trailing just behind MiniMax's Hailuo 02 Standard.
This marks a departure from Alibaba's earlier open-source philosophy. By restricting access to proprietary APIs, the company is clearly pivoting toward ecosystem control and revenue generation rather than community-driven development.
Key Technical Features
Wan 2.5 brings several notable upgrades that set it apart from earlier versions:
- Enhanced Frame Rates: The model supports 24 FPS at 1080p resolution, a significant jump from the 16 FPS limit of prior releases, delivering smoother and more cinematic output.
- Audio Synchronization: Built-in lip-syncing capabilities allow integration with pre-generated voices, creating more cohesive multimedia content.
- Competitive Pricing: Priced at $0.15 per second, Wan 2.5 sits between budget-friendly Chinese alternatives like Kling 2.5 Turbo ($0.07/s) and Hailuo 02 Pro ($0.08/s), and premium Western options such as Google's Veo 3 and OpenAI's Sora 2.
Market Position
The current leaderboard shows KuaiShou's Kling 2.5 Turbo at the top with an ELO of 1,242, followed by Google's Veo 3 at 1,229. Alibaba's #5 placement reflects China's accelerating investment in AI video technology and confirms the company's growing influence in this space. For developers and content creators, models like Wan 2.5 demonstrate that the competitive edge now lies not just in raw capability but in balancing performance, cost, and practical integration.
What This Means for the Industry
Wan 2.5 exemplifies Alibaba's strategic evolution from open collaboration to commercial focus. While this closed approach may limit academic experimentation, it positions the model for large-scale enterprise adoption. As competition intensifies between Chinese and Western tech giants, success in AI video will increasingly depend on more than technical prowess - it will hinge on accessibility, pricing strategy, and how well these tools fit into broader creative workflows. Alibaba's latest move suggests the company understands this shifting landscape and is positioning itself accordingly.
Usman Salis
