Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K3 Model Weights for Public Access

WHO:

Bloomberg - Moonshot AI, a Beijing-based company, is led by founder Yang Zhilin.

WHAT:

The Information - Moonshot is seeking access to more Nvidia Blackwell chips to prepare for Kimi K4's development, after training K3 on Nvidia chips, including Blackwell.

VentureBeat - Moonshot AI released a 47-page technical report documenting the training innovations and obstacles of the Kimi K3 model.

VentureBeat - The Kimi K3 model is described as the world's first open 3T-class model, activating 104 billion parameters from a pool of 896 experts.

VentureBeat - The Kimi K3 model supports native multimodal reasoning and a one million-token context window.

VentureBeat - The Kimi K3 License requires companies with over $20 million in annual revenue to negotiate a separate commercial agreement for using the model as a service.

VentureBeat - The license also mandates that if the software is used for commercial products or services with more than 100 million monthly active users or more than $20 million in monthly revenue, "Kimi K3" must be prominently displayed on the user interface.

VentureBeat - Kimi K3 features a 2.8 trillion-parameter architecture and a one million-token context window.

VentureBeat - The Kimi K3 model weights are approximately 1.5 TB in size.

VentureBeat - The Kimi K3 License requires companies with over $20 million in annual revenue to negotiate a separate commercial agreement for using the model as a service.

VentureBeat - If a product using Kimi K3 exceeds 100 million monthly active users or $20 million in monthly revenue, "Kimi K3" must be prominently displayed on the user interface.

Bloomberg - Moonshot AI has released the Kimi K3 model weights for public download under the "Kimi K3 License."

Yahoo Finance - The Kimi K3 model's release is expected to broaden the user base of Moonshot's AI technology.

Yahoo Finance - Daily sales at Moonshot have surged at least sixfold since the K3's debut.

Yahoo Finance - Moonshot AI is seeking a new funding round at a $50 billion valuation ahead of a potential Hong Kong initial public offering as soon as this year.

WHERE:

Bloomberg - Moonshot AI is based in Beijing, China.

WHEN:

Yahoo Finance - The model's weights are due to be released on Monday.

WHY:

TechRadar - China's up to 100x cost advantage is reshaping the AI race, indicating a significant shift in the competitive landscape of AI development.

Yahoo Finance - A White House official accused Moonshot AI of training K3 on banned Nvidia chips and revived allegations of distillation, which Moonshot has not commented on.

Bloomberg - The release comes amid growing US concern about Chinese encroachment into AI development.

Yahoo Finance - Yang Zhilin aims to win users by focusing on openness and greater availability than competing US proprietary systems.

HOW:

VentureBeat - Moonshot AI is releasing implementation support for ecosystems including vLLM and SGLang alongside the Kimi K3 model weights.

Yahoo Finance - The Kimi K3 model allows developers to download, tweak, and host the technology freely.

Yahoo Finance - The K3 model's initial announcement and benchmark performance triggered a selloff in AI-related stocks, indicating that Chinese-made models are closing the gap on American leaders.

(UPDATED July 28, 2026 14:46 UTC)

Moonshot is currently seeking access to more Nvidia Blackwell chips to support the development of Kimi K4, having previously trained K3 on Nvidia chips, including Blackwell. This comes as China's substantial cost advantage, which could be up to 100 times lower, is reshaping the competitive landscape of AI development. The implications of these shifts are significant for companies involved in the race to advance AI technology.

(UPDATED July 28, 2026 06:47 UTC)

Moonshot AI has released a comprehensive 47-page technical report detailing the training innovations and challenges of its Kimi K3 model, which is touted as the world's first open 3T-class model, utilizing 104 billion parameters from a pool of 896 experts. This model features native multimodal reasoning and supports a one million-token context window, but companies with over $20 million in annual revenue will need to negotiate a separate commercial agreement to use it as a service. Meanwhile, a White House official has accused Moonshot AI of training K3 on banned Nvidia chips and has revived allegations of distillation, which the company has yet to address.

(UPDATED July 28, 2026 03:59 UTC)

VentureBeat reports that the new Kimi K3 model boasts an impressive 2.8 trillion-parameter architecture and a one million-token context window, with model weights weighing in at about 1.5 terabytes. Companies generating over $20 million in annual revenue will need to negotiate a separate commercial agreement to use Kimi K3 as a service, and if a product utilizing this model surpasses 100 million monthly active users or $20 million in monthly revenue, the name "Kimi K3" must be prominently displayed on the user interface. Additionally, Moonshot AI is providing implementation support for ecosystems like vLLM and SGLang alongside the release of the Kimi K3 model weights.

(UPDATED July 27, 2026 17:37 UTC)

Moonshot AI, a Beijing-based company led by founder Yang Zhilin, is set to release the Kimi K3 model weights for public download under the "Kimi K3 License" on Monday. This release is expected to significantly expand the user base of Moonshot's AI technology, with daily sales reportedly surging at least sixfold since the K3's debut. As the company seeks a new funding round at a $50 billion valuation ahead of a potential Hong Kong initial public offering, the Kimi K3 model allows developers to freely download, tweak, and host the technology, reflecting Yang's strategy to emphasize openness over competing US systems.