Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI has temporarily paused new consumer subscriptions after demand for its newly launched Kimi K3 model pushed computing capacity near its limit, as it seeks fresh funding and prepares for a potential Hong Kong initial public offering.

Moonshot is also unwinding its offshore structure ahead of the listing and has discussed the plan with advisers including Goldman Sachs and China International Capital Corp, according to three sources, though the timetable remains fluid.

Kimi K3 is Moonshot’s flagship 2.8 trillion-parameter model for coding, knowledge work, and reasoning.

The company said the model performed competitively with leading US models in some technical tasks, and independent evaluations have indicated strong performance.

US export controls on advanced Nvidia chips have made access to computing power a constraint for Chinese AI developers, according to analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations, which has argued that the restrictions have left China with a growing AI chip deficit.

Founded in 2023, Moonshot raised more than US$2 billion in May from investors including Meituan, China Mobile, and CPE, and has since begun seeking up to US$2 billion more at a valuation that reached US$30 billion in June.

🔗 Source: Reuters