China’s Moonshot AI Launches Open-Source Model to Regain Market Share
Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI unveiled its new open-source model, Kimi K2, on Friday, aiming to regain traction in the highly competitive domestic AI market. The model is designed with advanced coding skills and excels in general agent tasks and tool integration, enabling it to handle complex workflows more efficiently, the company said in a statement.
Moonshot claims Kimi K2 surpasses several mainstream open-source AI models, including DeepSeek’s V3, and competes closely with top U.S. models like Anthropic’s in certain coding-related functions. This release aligns with a growing trend among Chinese AI firms to open-source their models, contrasting with many U.S. tech giants, such as OpenAI and Google, which keep their most advanced AI technologies proprietary. However, some American companies like Meta have also embraced open-source AI models.
Open-sourcing helps companies build stronger developer communities, showcase technological prowess, and extend global influence—a strategic move by China to counter U.S. efforts to restrict its tech progress. Other Chinese tech giants that have open-sourced models include DeepSeek, Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu.
Founded in 2023 by Tsinghua University graduate Yang Zhilin, Moonshot has become a key player in China’s AI scene, supported by major investors like Alibaba. The startup gained significant attention in 2024 for its long-text analysis and AI search capabilities but has seen its market position weaken after DeepSeek launched competitive low-cost models early this year.
According to the Chinese AI tracking site aicpb.com, Moonshot’s Kimi app was the third most-used AI product by monthly active users in August last year but slipped to seventh place by June 2025.



