In the global AI race, a sanctioned Chinese firm says cheaper models can still win

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China’s artificial intelligence race has no finish line. DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba

and even consumer electronics firm Xiaomi

have all dropped new models in recent weeks, jostling for position on leaderboards.

From native AI startups to platform giants, companies across the sector face growing pressure to innovate, expand their user base and find paths to generate revenue. At the same time, they must manage steep research and development costs alongside rising expenses for computing power and hardware.