Microsoft, Amazon and Google reportedly weigh China model deal for Kimi K3 amid policy risk

Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet are reportedly in early talks with China-based Moonshot AI about revenue-sharing deals for Moonshot’s Kimi K3 artificial intelligence model, according to a market report cited by Yahoo Finance on August 26, 2026. The discussions, if they proceed, would mark another attempt by large U.S. cloud and AI providers to participate in AI supply chains and monetization paths that extend beyond their own model development.

The report frames the negotiations as taking place while policy risk is in focus, referencing a “blacklist threat” associated with remarks attributed to U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent. The implication in the market write-up is that U.S. rules or enforcement priorities could complicate cross-border AI commercialization, even for companies that operate within established enterprise cloud channels.

Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 is described in the report as the specific model at the center of the potential agreements. Revenue-sharing, as characterized in the report, would determine how proceeds generated from Kimi K3 deployments or access are divided among the parties, rather than a simple licensing or one-time services arrangement. The report does not provide additional detail on the mechanics, such as which markets, platforms, or customer types the revenue would come from.

The same report groups Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet together, suggesting that the three are exploring comparable business structures with the Chinese developer. That matters because each company’s AI strategy differs: Microsoft is deeply integrated into enterprise software and Azure cloud offerings, Amazon sells its AI services through AWS, and Alphabet monetizes AI through Google’s products and cloud. The reported talks therefore indicate a broader industry push to secure distribution and pricing power around third-party frontier models.

Still, neither the market post nor any official statement included in the materials provided discloses key deal terms. There is no information on whether the discussions involve model hosting inside the U.S., rebranding, exclusive rights, or compliance-specific limitations that could affect how Kimi K3 is accessed by customers. The report also does not confirm the timeline for negotiations, the probability of an agreement, or the scope of revenue-sharing (for example, whether it would cover inference usage, enterprise subscriptions, or partner resale).

For investors and business leaders, the policy angle is likely to be as important as the commercial one. U.S. technology restrictions and enforcement priorities can change quickly, and even a workable revenue-sharing structure can become unusable if a blacklist or related rule triggers prohibit certain transactions or service delivery. In that sense, the reported talks underscore how market participants are trying to price policy uncertainty while still pursuing growth opportunities in AI partnerships.