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Chinese startup Moonshot AI on Friday launched what it claims is the world\u2019s largest open AI model, Kimi K3, positioning its product as a direct challenger to leading systems offered by Anthropic and OpenAI in what it calls a \u201cnew frontier of intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chinese startup called its AI model the \u201cnew frontier of intelligence.\u201d <\/p>\n
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Moonshot introduced<\/a> Kimi K3 on Friday as the world\u2019s largest open AI model at 2.8 trillion parameters\u2014the information an AI model learns from its training data and relies on to generate responses\u2014though neither OpenAI nor Anthropic has disclosed the total parameter counts of their models.<\/p>\n Open-weight models like Kimi K3 or Meta\u2019s Llama allow developers to download, run and modify the AI, unlike proprietary models such as OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT and Anthropic\u2019s Claude, whose underlying systems are private.<\/p>\n Moonshot said its model\u2019s overall performance still trails Anthropic\u2019s Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI\u2019s GPT 5.6 Sol, but still demonstrates \u201cfrontier-level\u201d performance and outperforms other tested models, including earlier GPT and Claude models as well as SpaceXAI\u2019s Grok.<\/p>\n In some benchmarks that included coding and general agents, Kimi K3 \u201cperformed competitively\u201d with Fable 5 and \u201csubstantially outperformed\u201d Claude Opus 4.8, Sol and GPT 5.5, Moonshot said.<\/p>\n Bank of America analysts lauded Moonshot\u2019s model in a note, writing that even though Chinese AI firms have limited access to the most advanced chips, Moonshot has demonstrated it can make major advancements by improving how it trains and designs its models. <\/p>\n tangent<\/p>\n Shares of Moonshot\u2019s Chinese competitors Zhipu and MiniMax plunged on Friday, plummeting 28.4% and 15.6% in Hong Kong-based trading, respectively. Shares of Z.ai, which released a new model in June, similarly dropped 28.4%.<\/p>\n what is moonshot ai?<\/p>\n Moonshot AI was founded in 2023 and is among China\u2019s leading model developers with backing from Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent. The firm raised about $2 billion in its latest funding round, valuing it at more than $20 billion, according<\/a> to Bloomberg. That follows Moonshot\u2019s prior valuation at $4.3 billion from a $500 million raise at the end of last year and a $700 million raise at a $10 billion valuation earlier this year. Moonshot reported in April that its annual recurring revenue topped $200 million, thanks to growing subscriptions for Kimi and its other AI services. <\/p>\n key backgrond<\/p>\n Chinese AI firms have been constrained by U.S. export controls that limit access to the most advanced AI chips, including Nvidia\u2019s H200 AI chips. The U.S. began allowing limited exports of Nvidia\u2019s chips earlier this week, though the Commerce Department said approvals remain limited and are subject to licensing. The U.S. has alleged <\/a>that some Chinese companies are smuggling banned AI chips into China from the U.S., and some firms have sought to work around the export restrictions by renting computing power overseas and buying processors through foreign subsidiaries. <\/p>\n