Elon Musk has ignited a war of nerves with a Chinese AI startup by previewing the launch of ‘Grok 4.6,’ the next-generation large language model from his AI company xAI. On July 18 (local time), Musk announced via his social media platform X that Grok 4.6, boasting 2 trillion parameters, has entered its final training phase.
The move is widely interpreted as a direct response to ‘Kimi K3,’ a model with 2.8 trillion parameters unveiled by Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI. Moonshot AI made a splash in mid-July by releasing Kimi K3, emphasizing it as the largest open-source model globally. Musk promptly called the model “Impressive,” only to reveal his own next-generation model plans just a day later, setting up a direct competitive dynamic.
Musk asserted that Grok 4.6 can surpass Kimi K3’s performance while maintaining generation speeds and token efficiency similar to its predecessor, Grok 4.5. While specific benchmark scores and a release date remain undisclosed, industry observers believe xAI is maximizing training speed using ‘Colossus,’ the massive supercomputer secured through its merger with SpaceX.
Moonshot AI wasted no time responding to Musk’s provocation. The official Weibo account for Kimi K3 quoted Musk’s remarks and posted, “Welcome to the 2 trillion+ club,” subtly underscoring that Moonshot AI had already entered that club first with its overwhelming 2.8 trillion parameters. Furthermore, Huang Zhenxin, head of Moonshot AI’s B2B business, expressed confidence in an interview with Chinese media, stating, “It seems Kimi’s performance has significantly shocked Musk,” and adding, “We look forward to them stepping up and competing with us now.”
Beyond the technological rivalry, Moonshot AI is also accelerating its fundraising efforts. According to Bloomberg, the company is set to close its summer funding round soon at a valuation of $31.5 billion (approximately 46.5 trillion won). Once this round is complete, the company plans to immediately launch a final pre-IPO funding round with an eye on a Hong Kong stock exchange listing, targeting a valuation of up to $50 billion (approximately 73.8 trillion won).
Simultaneously, Moonshot AI is pushing forward with B2B business expansion. The company is preparing to launch the ‘Kimi Hosted Agent’ platform, offering enterprise customers standardized APIs for automated PPT generation and investment research system construction. Moonshot AI’s commercialization path is becoming increasingly clear, with API call-based revenue already accounting for 70% of its B2B sales structure.
As the battle for AI supremacy extends beyond model performance into a contest of capital and ecosystems, the ‘parameter war’ between Musk’s xAI and China’s Moonshot AI is drawing attention for its potential impact on the global AI landscape.