Nikkei: China's major AI firms launched 16 new models in September
Nikkei data reported by TechNews shows 10 major Chinese AI companies — including DeepSeek, Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi — launched 16 new models in September, mostly lightweight and low-cost, such as DeepSeek V4.1-Flash, Zhipu's GLM-5.3-FlashX and MiniMax M3.1-Flash-Preview. BenchLM counted 20 large language models from eight major Chinese firms in July–September, up from 2 in the first quarter and 17 in the second, while the anonymous model Space Bunny Alpha — believed to be a stealth MiniMax release — surged in usage on OpenRouter. The report contrasts this with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's calls to slow AI R&D and crack down on illegal distillation, noting Chinese firms increasingly train and run models on domestic chips.
It underscores that Chinese labs keep shipping models at a rapid pace despite export controls and US calls for caution, competing largely on low-cost models for agent workloads.