Cheaper, open and intelligent: Chinese AI models gain ground, as they make inroads in the US - Yahoo Finance

What the report says

Yahoo Finance, carrying an Associated Press report, says Chinese artificial intelligence models are gaining users in the United States as developers and companies look for lower-cost tools that are strong enough for everyday work. The report cites Raffi Krikorian, Mozilla’s chief technology officer in San Francisco, as an example of a U.S. tech leader trying Moonshot’s newly launched Kimi K3 after previously using Z.ai’s GLM-5.2 for tasks involving calendars, documents and email.

The AP report frames the trend as a new phase in U.S.-China AI competition. Chinese startups including Moonshot, Z.ai and DeepSeek have released models that some users and experts describe as close to leading U.S. systems for coding, research and routine business uses, while often being cheaper. Coinbase was cited as one U.S. company turning to Chinese models to reduce expenses, and Goldman Sachs reportedly said Chinese AI models are nearing a key point for broader adoption as demand grows for agentic AI that can carry out multistep tasks.

The report also notes political and security tensions. The Trump administration has accused Moonshot of using covert, though not necessarily illegal, methods connected to Anthropic’s model technology, while some U.S. politicians and AI firms have raised concerns about illicit model “distillation.” Beijing rejects such claims, according to the report. U.S. restrictions on advanced chips and possible further sanctions remain part of the backdrop.

Open-source availability is another reason Chinese models are spreading, the AP reported, especially as major U.S. frontier models remain closed. Analysts quoted in the story said Chinese systems still trail top U.S. models overall, but pricing, openness and global expansion could make them increasingly influential.