Alibaba-backed Chinese startup Moonshot has launched Kimi, one of the most popular generative AI chatbots.
Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Chinese startup Moonshot released its latest generative artificial intelligence model on Thursday. The model claims to outperform OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its “agent” capabilities, or the ability to understand what users want without explicit step-by-step instructions.
The model, called “Kimi K2 Thinking,” is based on the K2 model released in July by Beijing-based Moonshot, backed by Alibaba.
The update comes as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang again urged the United States this week to further compete with Chinese-developed AI. Some large US companies, such as Airbnb, have begun to publicly promote how some Chinese AI models are viable, and often cheaper, alternatives to OpenAI.
Despite US restrictions on Chinese companies’ access to high-end chips, companies such as DeepSeek are releasing AI models in open source at a fraction of the user fees of ChatGPT.
DeepSeek also claimed that it spent $5.6 million on its V3 model, compared to OpenAI’s billions of dollars.
Training the KimiK2 thinking model cost $4.6 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
Moonshot says it can automatically select between 200 and 300 tools to complete tasks independently, reducing the need for human intervention. CNBC could not independently verify DeepSeek or Kimi’s numbers.
Last month, DeepSeek released a new AI model that it claims improves performance by using visual cues to expand the context of information it processes at a time.
