In Silicon Valley, the common perception is that Chinese AI models like Kimi K3 and DeepSeek R1 emerged unexpectedly. However, if you're looking to gain insight into the activities of Chinese AI researchers without traveling to the region, a simple solution is to access X.
Over the past year, there's been a notable uptick in Chinese AI researchers engaging on X, contributing to the broader conversation about artificial intelligence's evolution and commercialization. A prime example is Moonshot AI, the innovator behind Kimi K3. Just this past Thursday, I discovered approximately 30 accounts on X belonging to individuals who claim to currently be with Moonshot. This group includes two cofounders and several former employees and collaborators. These accounts are very active, discussing significant releases from Moonshot, sharing research papers, networking with Western AI experts, and even offering glimpses into their personal lives and interests.
While Moonshot leads the charge on X, other prominent Chinese AI startups, including Minimax and Z.ai, have their own executives and technical staff contributing on the platform. Additionally, employees from DeepSeek, many of whom are reportedly barred from leaving China due to confiscated passports, frequently engage on X, sharing the latest AI developments and job opportunities to attract new talent.
“X is an unparalleled community for AI dialogue right now,” remarks Meng Fanqing, cofounder of Evolvent AI and a former intern at Moonshot who contributed to the Kimi K2.5 model. He appreciates the mix of both Chinese and international audiences and notes that X's recommendation algorithm effectively surfaces relevant content within similar circles. In contrast, he finds it challenging to engage in meaningful technical discussions on Chinese platforms, prompting many researchers like him to prefer X.
Meng's own participation on X ramped up in mid-2025, particularly after the viral success of DeepSeek’s R1 model earlier that same year, which highlighted China's AI landscape. Many Chinese researchers capitalized on this momentum, joining X to express their viewpoints. “That was when many began to consider branding themselves globally,” Meng explains.
Moreover, Chinese AI researchers may be stepping in to fill a gap left by those at companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, who have become increasingly secretive about their research as their organizations have grown. Tiezhen Wang, an independent AI analyst and ex-researcher at Hugging Face, suggests that these companies may feel compelled to keep their model architectures and training methodologies under wraps, resulting in fewer public insights. This shift leads to greater interest in Chinese researchers on X, where audiences are eager for clarity in the rapidly evolving AI sector.
Why is X the platform of choice?
One significant factor driving Chinese AI researchers to X is the absence of a comparable social media outlet in China for in-depth, quality discussions on AI and other emerging technologies.
Some users recall participating on Zhihu, a platform once positioned as the go-to space for educated professionals to share knowledge. However, since 2020, Zhihu has shifted its focus toward fiction content, causing many expert contributors to disengage. Deng Yu, a Chinese mathematician who received a Fields Medal this year, notably stated in 2018 that he stopped posting on Zhihu due to the increasing prevalence of subpar content.
