Moonshot's Kimi K2 soars in popularity amid experts' praise for Chinese AI developments
Downloads of Kimi K2, launched on July 11, doubled to 145,000 on Monday from 76,000 on Friday, according to AI and machine-learning developer platform Hugging Face.
The large language model (LLM) from the Beijing-based start-up uses a mixture-of-experts (MOE) architecture and boasts 1 trillion total parameters, with 32 billion activated per inference. For comparison, DeepSeek-V3 has 671 billion parameters.
'While companies like OpenAI invest hundreds of millions in compute resources, Moonshot's Kimi K2 shows a more cost-efficient approach to training and inference – highlighting a possible turning point in AI development strategy,' said Henning Steier, Bluespace Ventures' chief marketing officer, in a LinkedIn post.
The model is free via Kimi's app and browser interface, unlike OpenAI's GPT and Anthropic's Claude, which charge monthly subscriptions.
MOE is a machine-learning approach that divides an AI model into separate sub-networks, or experts – each focused on a subset of the input data – to jointly perform a task. This is said to greatly reduce computation costs during training and achieve faster performance during inference.
Moonshot said it developed Kimi K2 at a fraction of the cost typically spent by larger AI firms.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
30 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong must make the most of its allure for mainland Chinese, overseas students
When it comes to studying abroad, the top choices are usually the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Increasingly, Hong Kong has also become a popular destination thanks to its top universities , international environment, affordable education fees and good career prospects. Advertisement The city's appeal is not confined to just foreign students. A growing number of mainland Chinese pupils are taking the city's university entrance examinations. The Diploma of Secondary Education exam is not only considered less stressful than its equivalent on the mainland, where about 13.4 million students registered for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination this year, it is also seen as a step towards more diverse opportunities in higher education. Of the 55,489 DSE candidates this year, there were 960 non-local private ones, up from 238 in 2023 and 549 last year, according to the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. Two students from across the border who achieved good scores in the DSE this year told the Post that they intended to study at local universities. Currently, 145 mainland and around 130 Taiwan higher education institutions admit Hong Kong students on the basis of their DSE results. The number of bodies recognising DSE results in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Asia-Pacific and Europe has also increased steadily over the years, according to the authority. Meanwhile, the 'Study in Hong Kong' brand continues to shine internationally, with some universities ranked favourably by well-established agencies. The city claimed 17th place in the latest global ranking of best student cities by the UK-based Quacquarelli Symonds. However, while the city was described as Asia's most improved higher education system after rising from 22nd place last year, it still lags behind Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Taipei. It also still falls short of the city's peak showing of fifth place in 2015. Advertisement The authorities must step up cooperation with stakeholders to strengthen the city's role as an international education and talent hub. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has renewed efforts on this front. In addition to raising the quota for non-locals and offering more scholarships to overseas students, there also needs to be more affordable off-campus accommodation choices. The move to relax rules for converting hotels and commercial buildings into student hostels should be actively pursued. With the right policy support and promotions, Hong Kong would be an ideal choice for those seeking quality education, diverse opportunities and global connectivity.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese firms urged to deepen Asean roots as US cracks down on transshipments
Beijing should encourage its firms to deepen integration with Southeast Asian economies instead of using the region as a transshipment route to the US, according to a senior regional economist – as Washington threatens the export-reliant region with high tariffs. Transshipments drew attention earlier this month after the US announced tariffs on imports from Vietnam and 23 other trading partners. US President Donald Trump warned that imports diverted through Vietnam would face a 40 per cent tariff – double the 20 per cent levy on goods made in the Southeast Asian nation. 'Of course, [Southeast Asian authorities] would check the country of origin for products,' said Dong He, chief economist at the Singapore-based Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), on Tuesday, adding that some already have agreements with the US to do so. Chinese officials should also 'encourage their firms to become more deeply ingrained or integrated with local economies' in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), He said. While the Chinese government seeks to protect its exports, businesses should have the autonomy to make long-term decisions about their role in local economies, which would also protect them from unpredictable tariff rates, he added. Imports from China face an average tariff rate of 42 per cent, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, while other Asian countries face rates of 25 to 40 per cent starting August 1.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba to resign after election drubbing
Japan 's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has made up his mind to resign, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Wednesday. Ishiba is facing growing opposition from within his Liberal Democratic Party for his vow to stay in power despite the ruling coalition's bruising defeat in Sunday's upper house election. According to the Yomiuri newspaper, Ishiba told his close associates on Tuesday evening that he would explain how he would take responsibility for the election loss once a solution was reached on trade negotiations with the US. In a post on Truth Social posted on Wednesday Asian hours, US President Donald Trump said he had just completed a 'massive' deal with Japan that included US$550 billion in investments into the United States. 03:38 Japan's ruling LDP loses majority in upper house elections, Ishiba to continue as PM Japan's ruling LDP loses majority in upper house elections, Ishiba to continue as PM Speaking after Trump's post, Ishiba said he was ready to meet or speak over the phone with Trump after being briefed on the details by Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, who has been in Washington for trade talks.
