According to Reuters, Beijing-based AI startup Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3 on July 17, a 2.8 trillion-parameter open-weight model supporting a 1 million-token context window. The model performed competitively with Anthropic's Fable 5 and outperformed OpenAI's Opus 4.8 and GPT 5.6 Sol in GPU kernel optimization.
Moonshot is backed by Alibaba and Tencent. Last month, the company was reported to be seeking $2 billion in fresh funding at a $30 billion valuation ahead of a potential Hong Kong listing. The launch reflects intensifying competition as Chinese AI firms like Z.ai and MiniMax release increasingly powerful models at lower cost, narrowing the gap with U.S. rivals.