Moonshot AI Releases Open-Weight Model Kimi K3

Beijing-based AI firm Moonshot AI has released its Kimi K3 model, a large open-weight AI model that has ignited significant discussion within the AI development community. Officially released in mid-July 2026, with its full weights becoming available on July 27, Kimi K3 boasts approximately 2.8 trillion parameters, making it potentially the largest open-weight model ever released.

The model is natively multimodal, capable of processing images and audio alongside text. Its extensive context window, reaching 1 million tokens, allows for complex reasoning and tasks. Kimi K3 offers developers the ability to modify, fine-tune, and build applications on top of a highly capable model, at a fraction of the cost compared to using closed-source alternatives.

Moonshot AI was founded in March 2023 by Yang Zhilin, Zhou Xinyu, and Wu Yuxin. The company previously gained attention for its Kimi chatbot, which could process lengthy Chinese text. In May, the company raised $2 billion in funding, achieving a valuation of $20 billion.

The release of Kimi K3's weights publicly facilitates its global adoption, especially given the restrictions on access to advanced AI chips in China. Some US entities have called for a ban on Chinese open-weight models, but counterarguments emphasize that open models foster innovation and security, as highlighted by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.