China’s Top AI Startups Enter U.S., Defying Political Tensions

Chinese tech companies are facing more scrutiny in the U.S. than ever before. Yet some of China’s artificial intelligence startups are making a rush to grab U.S. customers. The reason: it’s too hard to make any money in China.

One example is Beijing-based Moonshot AI, one of China’s most valuable AI startups. Its employees have been working on products that were recently launched in the U.S., including Ohai, an AI role-play chat app available on the Apple and Google mobile app stores, and the website of Noisee, a music video generator, according to an employee and another person briefed on the moves. The U.S. entry by Moonshot, which is on track for a $3 billion valuation, shows how Chinese AI startups are responding to an escalating price war in their domestic market for large-language models and AI applications. Its U.S. efforts haven’t previously been reported.