Yandex disputes Sber CEO's claim it relies on Alibaba's Qwen for AI
Yandex
Sberbank CEO German Gref told Russia's Federation Council that Yandex had stopped building its own foundational AI models and was instead fine-tuning Alibaba's Qwen, claiming Sber is the only fully domestic Russian AI developer. Yandex's press office publicly disputed this, stating it continues to develop its own fundamental models with a complete independent development cycle.
Why it matters
Highlights a public rift between Russia's two largest AI players over technological sovereignty and reliance on Chinese open models, a recurring theme in the Russian AI market's positioning.
Importance: 2/5
Regional industry dispute with media-only confirmation, no product release.