I wonder if it's because they're young and all the "Sigma, Alpha and Beta" memes led them to believe Alpha is better than Beta so it should come after. That would be really intersting.
With the visual distinction between them, I actually read “beta” and “alpha” as two separate products, with alpha being like a premium tier that would coexist with beta.
I’m sure this isn’t actually the case, but it’s funny how swapping the order just disabled my brain’s ability to view them as typical software release phases.