Chinese artificial intelligence firms are releasing high-performance open-weight models for free, putting pressure on U.S. big tech companies that rely on closed AI platforms. The Verge reported that Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 is seen as matching some top U.S. models at lower cost and is widening the fight to control the developer ecosystem. Analysts say open weights can still generate revenue through infrastructure and services. The trend is also tied to Beijing’s industrial strategy and policy debates in the United States.

China\'s AI2 Robotics and XSquare Robot have raised investment after being valued at more than 50 billion yuan, or about $2.8 billion, each, SiliconANGLE reported on Sunday, citing Bloomberg. AI2 Robotics raised about $735 million in the round. The size of XSquare Robot\'s investment was not disclosed. AI2 Robotics develops general-purpose intelligent robots and its own vision-language-action model. XSquare Robot is known for its WaiAI model and Quanta series wheeled humanoids.