China doesn’t need to build better AI than the US to win the tech race

Chinese AI startup Moonshot's Kimi K3 open-weight model, unveiled on Jul 17, reportedly rivals frontier models from Anthropic and OpenAI at a fraction of the cost, suggesting China may not need to build better AI than the US to win the tech race. Cheaper Chinese open-weight models may prove good enough for business adoption, shifting the competition from who builds the smartest model to who offers the most cost-effective solution.

China doesn’t need to build better AI than the US to win the tech race Cheaper Chinese open-weight models may just need to prove themselves good enough for businesses to adopt UP ONE day, down the other. That pretty much sums up the US stock market – and my corresponding blood pressure – these days as investors try to work out whether the artificial intelligence boom is a bubble waiting to burst. One development that made waves was the unveiling of Chinese AI startup Moonshot’s Kimi K3 open-weight model on Jul 17, which reportedly rivals frontier models from Anthropic and OpenAI at a fraction of the cost. Much of the AI race has been framed as a contest over who can build the smartest model. But that may no longer be the right question to ask. TRENDING NOW /pulse?ref=trending-now Singapore banks’ battle for wealth talent goes beyond private bankers Keep moving, keep learning, live fully: Lessons from actor Tay Ping Hui and a ‘granfluencer’ Yeoh Pei Xien: YTL’s third-gen scion with a pastor’s heart Singtel explores Nasdaq-SGX dual listing for data centre arm Nxera, local data centre Reit