AI models developed by Chinese companies are gaining users but remain significantly behind their US counterparts in revenue, with China’s leading AI firms generating about 10% of the combined annual recurring revenue (ARR) of OpenAI and Anthropic, according to estimates from Rhodium Group reported by CNBC.
Rhodium estimated OpenAI’s ARR at $40 billion and Anthropic’s at $65 billion, compared with $4 billion for ByteDance, the highest among the Chinese companies assessed.
Alibaba followed with an estimated ARR of $2.4 billion, while Z.ai, formerly known as Zhipu AI, told investors this week that its ARR had reached $1.8 billion, according to a transcript reviewed by CNBC.
Moonshot was estimated at $1 billion, MiniMax at $800 million and DeepSeek at $500 million.
The figures are based on ARR, which annualises a company’s recent monthly revenue figure.
Despite their lower revenue, Chinese AI start-ups were estimated to carry substantially higher valuation-to-revenue multiples than their US counterparts.
Rhodium estimated DeepSeek’s multiple at 163 and Moonshot’s at 50, compared with 34 for OpenAI and 21 for Anthropic.
Rhodium partner Logan Wright, who co-authored the report with research analyst Endeavour Tian, said financing constraints could limit the ability of China’s frontier AI labs to expand.
“They will be heavily dependent upon a favourable climate in the equity market,” Wright told CNBC, adding that “historically that’s not an easy bet in China”.
According to the report, state funding has largely been directed towards chips and servers rather than AI model developers. Rhodium estimated that state-affiliated sources accounted for more than 60% of equity investment in Chinese AI chips and servers.
The findings come as several Chinese AI companies pursue potential public listings.
Moonshot has reportedly filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO, while DeepSeek is also said to be preparing to list.
CNBC reported that Anthropic is expected to go public in the US in October, while OpenAI has reportedly delayed its plans until next year.
