Chinese AI models are gaining ground with U.S. companies as OpenAI, Anthropic costs surge

* U.S. companies are increasingly using Chinese-built models as they build out tools and products using AI. * Recent model releases from Chinese companies are seen by many as highly competitive compared to leading U.S. frontier systems. * Companies are hunting for cheaper model alternatives as they grapple with unexpectedly high costs related to AI. **Key insights:** The recent model releases from Chinese companies, including DeepSeek and [Z.ai](http://Z.ai), are seen by many as highly competitive compared to leading frontier systems from the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI. It is known that open source models are insulates a country from sovereignty violation: the recent Trump's decision to implement an overnight export ban on the use of ChatGTP and Claude provide a glimpse into why close - sourced LLMs is a national security. With the share of t0k\_ens used by U.S. companies on Chinese AI models via OpenRouter has sat above 30% each week since Feb. 8, with that figure rising as high at 46%.  https://preview.redd.it/zecy5xwzxqbh1.png?width=921&format=png&auto=webp&s=442f98e29177e44ee4128ac7724ea5c427a2e0dc Is the tech sector heading into the direction of China 2.0 manufacturing? Source: [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/chinese-ai-models-costs-us-openai-anthropic.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/chinese-ai-models-costs-us-openai-anthropic.html)