BEIJING, July 11 (Reuters) - Chinese artificial

intelligence startup Moonshot AI released a new open-source AI

model on Friday, joining a wave of similar releases from local

rivals, as it seeks to reclaim its position in the competitive

domestic market.

The model, called Kimi K2, features enhanced coding

capabilities and excels at general agent tasks and tool

integration, allowing it to break down complex tasks more

effectively, the company said in a statement.

Moonshot claimed the model outperforms mainstream

open-source models in some areas, including DeepSeek's V3, and

rival capabilities of leading U.S. models such as those from

Anthropic in certain functions such as coding.

The release follows a trend among Chinese companies toward

open-sourcing AI models, contrasting with many U.S. tech giants

like OpenAI and Google that keep their most advanced AI models

proprietary. Some American firms, including Meta Platforms ( META )

, have also released open-source models.

Open-sourcing allows developers to showcase their

technological capabilities and expand developer communities as

well as their global influence, a strategy likely to help China

counter U.S. efforts to limit Beijing's tech progress.

Other Chinese companies that have released open-source

models include DeepSeek, Alibaba ( BABA ), Tencent ( TCTZF )

and Baidu ( BIDU ).

Founded in 2023 by Tsinghua University graduate Yang Zhilin,

Moonshot is among China's prominent AI startups and is backed by

internet giants including Alibaba ( BABA ).

The company gained prominence in 2024 when users flocked to

its platform for its long-text analysis capabilities and AI

search functions.

However, its standing has declined this year following

DeepSeek's release of low-cost models, including the R1 model

launched in January that disrupted the global AI industry.

Moonshot's Kimi application ranked third in monthly active

users last August but dropped to seventh place by June,

according to aicpb.com, a Chinese website that tracks AI

products.