(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)
By Robyn Mak
HONG KONG, March 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Making models freely available has helped Alibaba and compatriots innovate. US startups like the $29 bln Cursor benefit too. But mounting investor pressure to turn a profit may prompt a rethink to prioritise proprietary breakthroughs. And it’d suit Beijing’s geopolitical outlook.
Full view will be published shortly. Follow Robyn Mak on X.
<h3>CONTEXT NEWS</h3>
An executive from U.S. artificial intelligence coding startup Cursor acknowledged on March 21 that the company’s latest model, the Composer 2, “started from” Chinese open-source model Kimi 2.5, after claims from a developer posting on X. In November 2025, Cursor announced it had raised $2.3 billion at a post-money valuation of $29.3 billion. Its investors include Accel, Thrive, Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, Google and Coatue. The company is currently in talks to raise more funds at a $50 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported on March 12, citing sources.
Moonshot, which owns the Kimi model and chatbot, is raising funds at a target valuation of $10 billion, Bloomberg reported in February, citing sources. Its existing backers include Tencent and Alibaba. (Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

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- The article discusses the influence of freely available AI models on innovation for companies like Alibaba and U.S. startup Cursor.  
- However, increasing investor pressure for profitability may lead to a focus on proprietary developments aligning with Beijing's interests.  
- The piece highlights Cursor's valuation progress and its connection to Chinese open-source models amidst fundraising efforts.

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BREAKINGVIEWS-China AI labs face growing open-source dilemma