On January 28, 2026, Alibaba Cloud Tongyi took a significant step by officially open-sourcing and unveiling the Z-Image base model, which boasts a size of 6 billion (6B) parameters. In the realm of AI model development, this non-distilled base model stands out as it preserves the complete weight distribution. This characteristic is crucial as it ensures the model's integrity and performance potential.

Moreover, the model comes with native support for the CFG (Classifier-Free Guidance) guidance mechanism. In the context of AI image generation and related tasks, the CFG mechanism plays a pivotal role. It allows for more precise control over the model's output during the generation process, enabling the creation of images or other outputs that better align with specific requirements or desired characteristics.

This comprehensive feature set of the Z-Image base model provides a robust training foundation for fine-tuning tasks. For instance, techniques like LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) and ControlNet, which are widely used in the AI community to customize and enhance model performance for specific applications, can greatly benefit from this base model. With its full weight distribution and CFG support, researchers and developers can more effectively fine-tune the model to suit their unique needs, whether it's in the field of artistic image generation, scientific visualization, or any other area where AI-driven image creation is valuable.