Chinese AI models trail U.S. rivals in revenue, Rhodium says

A Rhodium Group report says Chinese AI models are generating far less revenue than leading U.S. rivals, even as adoption grows. The research firm estimates that the combined revenue of major Chinese AI models is only about 10% of what OpenAI and Anthropic bring in. The report cites annual recurring revenue estimates for several Chinese AI companies, including DeepSeek, MiniMax, Moonshot, Z.ai, ByteDance, and Alibaba. Rhodium said some Chinese startups are being valued at levels that look high relative to their revenue, especially compared with OpenAI and Anthropic. The analysis also noted that Chinese AI labs face a tougher path to sustainable scale because many models are opensource and capture less direct revenue, while funding for frontier AI development may remain constrained. Z.ai recently raised its revenue forecast, but the figures still lag those of its U.S. peers.