Overview
HappyHorse (Happy Horse / Happy Little Horse) is an AI video generation model developed by Alibaba's ATH Innovation Business Division. In early April 2026, it anonymously debuted on the Artificial Analysis Video Arena blind testing platform, ranking first globally with an ELO score of 1365, and simultaneously claimed the #1 spot on both the **text-to-video and image-to-video leaderboards**, surpassing all competitors such as Seedance 2.0, Kling 3.0, Veo 3, and Sora 2, causing industry shock.
On April 10, Alibaba officially acknowledged it; on April 20, it was officially announced; on April 27, API testing was opened via the Alibaba Cloud Bailian platform; **commercial launch in May**: global professional creators and enterprise customers can register and use it on the HappyHorse official website (happyhorse.cn) and the Alibaba Cloud Bailian platform, while general users can directly experience it via the HappyHorse entry at the bottom of the homepage of the latest Qwen App. The core team includes former Kuaishou Vice President and Kling technical lead Zhang Di. It supports text-to-video and image-to-video, with a maximum duration of 120 seconds.
Key Features
- Video Arena Dual Leaderboard #1: ELO 1365, ranked first globally in both text-to-video and image-to-video
- 120-Second Long Video: Breaks the AI video duration limit, single generation far exceeds most competitors
- Text/Image to Video: Multimodal input, both text-to-video and image-to-video pipelines are top-tier
- Multi-Platform Access: Qwen App general user entry + Alibaba Cloud Bailian enterprise API + official website for professional creators
- Ultra-Low Pricing at 0.44 RMB/Second: 720P video generation as low as 0.44 RMB/second, the lowest cost tier among industry peers with comparable quality
- Cinematic Quality: Image texture, camera movement coherence, and subject consistency are industry-leading
Use Cases
- Rapid production of marketing videos
- Short video / medium-length video creation
- E-commerce product videos and scene videos
- Film concept previews, storyboard concept images to dynamic
- Corporate promotional video drafts
Pros
- Video Arena #1 globally in both text-to-video and image-to-video
- 720P as low as 0.44 RMB/second, professional annual membership at 2499 RMB, excellent cost-performance
- 120-second long video industry-leading
- Multi-platform access via Qwen App + Alibaba Cloud Bailian + official website, accessible domestically
- Alibaba Cloud ecosystem support, enterprise-grade API stable and scalable
Pricing
**General users**: Free trial within the Qwen App; professional annual membership approximately 2499 RMB. **Enterprise API**: Billed via the Alibaba Cloud Bailian platform, 720P video as low as **0.44 RMB/second** (competitors with comparable quality typically 1-3 RMB/second). **Commercial launch starting in May**, pricing may be adjusted based on feature tiers; the latest prices are subject to the Alibaba Cloud Bailian platform announcement.
Summary
HappyHorse is the biggest dark horse in the video generation track in April 2026—anonymously debuting at #1 on the Video Arena dual leaderboard + aggressive pricing at 0.44 RMB/second, directly pulling AI video from a 'luxury technology' to a 'price range accessible to everyone.' If you need globally top-tier AI video quality while also caring about cost, you can experience it through the Qwen App or Alibaba Cloud Bailian; it is the new benchmark for domestic AI video in 2026.