China’s Moonshot AI in talks with Microsoft, Amazon, Google over revenue sharing

China’s Moonshot AI is ​negotiating revenue-sharing agreements with Microsoft , Amazon and Alphabet’s Google that would allow the US cloud giants to host its ‌blockbuster Kimi K3 model, reports Reuters citing inside sources. Any such deal could mark the first big revenue-sharing pact between a Chinese AI firm and a major US cloud company.

IPO-bound Moonshot is seeking up to a 30% share of revenue generated from K3-related services ⁠on Microsoft’s Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, according to the sources who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. That ​would be in line with terms that sources have said the startup has outlined for major customers using the open-weight model. The discussions are at ​an early stage and there is no certainty they will result in agreements, the sources said.

The discussions highlight how China’s leading AI models, often far cheaper than Western offerings, are gaining traction in the US, despite national security concerns in Washington that ​have led to bans on exports of AI chips to China. They are also taking place despite critical comments about Moonshot ​from senior US officials.