Chinese AI startups closed the gap on US leaders in 2026 with lower prices and models easier to customise than OpenAI's and Anthropic's proprietary systems

On October 22, 2026, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said DeepSeek and MiniMax had completed China's registration, open-sourcing and overseas-use procedures, clearing them to deploy AI models abroad under Beijing's proposed AI export controls.