How do Chinese AI firms make money? In a new report, @cherylwoooo and @ansonwhho identify five revenue sources and analyze how much each contributes. 🧵
open weightsA model whose trained parameters are published for anyone to download and run — unlike API-only models you can access but never possess.Full definition → raise adoption but erode pricing power: a model's first-party share of tokenThe chunk of text a model reads and writes in — roughly three-quarters of a word — and the unit AI usage is billed in.Full definition → can collapse within weeks. That shapes which Chinese models stay cheap and available through third-party hosts.
Terms in this piece · Glossary
open weights — A model whose trained parameters are published for anyone to download and run — unlike API-only models you can access but never possess.
token — The chunk of text a model reads and writes in — roughly three-quarters of a word — and the unit AI usage is billed in.
