Moonshot says Kimi is used by Chinese investment banks and VCs, reportedly files Hong Kong IPO

BEIJING — The Chinese artificial intelligence startup behind the Kimi model said Thursday that financial industry giants, including investment banks, funds and venture capital firms are using its Kimi models on AI tools.

Among the companies now using Kimi are investment bank CICC and venture capital firms such as Sequoia China, now rebranded as Hong Shan.

It's part of Beijing-based Moonshot's announcement Thursday that it was launching Kimi for financial services — a sign of how AI companies are pursuing real-world, commercial applications.

Kimi users can directly access information commonly used for analysis and reports, thanks to a number of industry data partners such as S&P Global Market Intelligence, Crunchbase, Wind, local financial news leaders and business database Tianyancha, according to Moonshot.

The startup said Kimi can also directly access the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR system for public companies' financial filings, the IMF, World Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve Economic Data site (FRED).

While users don't have to download a separate interface, a test on Kimi's mobile app indicated different kinds of data were available to different users depending on subscription tier.

Subscriptions to Kimi start at 49 yuan ($7.31) a month, and can go up to 699 yuan ($104.23).

"The real inflection point really is the combination of stronger AI capabilities with professional expertise," Samuel Fischer, Beijing branch manager at Deutsche Bank, said in a promotional video published by Moonshot on Thursday. "AI companies that understand real financial workflows and can deliver reliability and data security will be particularly well positioned to contribute to this transformation."

"AI can now organize and compare this kind of information, identify inconsistencies, and support initial analysis," he added.

It was not immediately clear whether Deutsche Bank was a client. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Kimi K3 model, released by Moonshot in July, competes with models from leading U.S. companies.

The Chinese startup has reportedly filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO. The company, however, has said it does not comment on market rumors or speculation.