Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI is in early-stage negotiations with Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Alphabet’s Google to host its open-weight Kimi K3 model under revenue-sharing agreements, according to sources familiar with the private talks. If finalized, the deal would mark the first major revenue-sharing partnership between a Chinese AI firm and leading U.S. cloud providers. IPO-bound Moonshot is seeking up to a 30% cut of revenue generated from Kimi K3 services on Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud, mirroring terms it offers to major enterprise clients. However, key details—including exact revenue splits, data access, and token usage auditing—remain unresolved, and all parties involved declined to comment.
The potential agreements highlight the growing global demand for high-performing, cost-effective Chinese AI models despite heightening political tension and strict U.S. chip export bans. Moonshot’s 2.8-trillion-parameter Kimi K3 has scored exceptionally well on third-party benchmarks, competing directly with models like OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8. Because running a model of this scale requires massive compute power, major cloud infrastructure is vital for enterprise deployment. Moonshot has already secured similar arrangements with smaller cloud providers and Chinese IT firm Chinasoft International.
The negotiations are unfolding amid heavy scrutiny from Washington. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently raised the possibility of placing the Beijing-based startup on a trade blacklist, while U.S. officials have accused Moonshot of using Nvidia chips illegally and copying Anthropic’s technology. Moonshot has denied these claims, attributing Kimi K3’s capabilities to proprietary architectural developments. Founded in 2023 by Yang Zhilin and backed by Alibaba, Moonshot raised over $2 billion in May 2026 as it prepares for a prospective Hong Kong initial public offering.
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