Chinese artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI is in early-stage negotiations with Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to license its Kimi K3 model on their cloud platforms under a revenue-sharing agreement, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Under the proposed terms, Moonshot would receive up to 30% of the revenue generated from Kimi K3-related services hosted on Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud. The talks remain preliminary and may not result in a finalized deal, the sources said. Moonshot declined to comment, while representatives for Microsoft, Amazon, and Google did not respond to requests for statements.
The potential agreement would mark the first major revenue-sharing contract between a Chinese AI-focused company and a top U.S. cloud provider. It underscores the growing traction of leading Chinese AI models, which often undercut Western alternatives in cost, despite Washington’s national security restrictions, including export controls on advanced AI chips to China.
Moonshot has faced scrutiny from U.S. officials, including remarks from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month that the firm could be added to a sanctions blacklist. U.S. lawmakers have accused the Beijing-based company of using technology stolen from Anthropic to develop Kimi K3 and illegally acquiring Nvidia chips, allegations Moonshot has denied.
Founded in 2023 and backed by Chinese tech giants including Alibaba, Moonshot raised over $2 billion in May and is reportedly exploring a potential Hong Kong initial public offering. For AI model providers like Moonshot, partnerships with major cloud platforms are critical for reaching enterprise customers, as operating a 2.8-trillion-parameter model like Kimi K3 requires substantial computational resources that few firms can support in-house.
Moonshot has already secured similar agreements with smaller cloud platforms and in July inked a deal with Chinese IT services firm Chinasoft International.
