People visit the Moonshot AI stand, featuring Kimi K3, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 17, 2026. A model released on July 17 by Chinese startup Moonshot AI has fuelled buzz around the country's tech prowess, as experts said it could rival some of the more advanced offerings from US labs. Moonshot AI's "Kimi K3" is one of several from China growing in global popularity thanks to their lower costs and source code that programmers can customise. (Credit: Getty Images)
Chinese startup Moonshot AI has released a new artificial intelligence model that is performing alongside some of the leading systems developed in the United States, highlighting how quickly competition between the world's two largest economies has intensified in one of the technology sector's most closely watched races.
Kimi K3, unveiled Thursday by Beijing-based Moonshot AI, is being positioned as the company's flagship model and is set to become available as an open-weight system later this month.
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