Moonshot AI launches 2.8T-parameter Kimi K3, calling it the first open 3T-class model

Kimi K3, and what we can still learn from the pelican benchmark

Moonshot AI released Kimi K3, a 2.8T-parameter model and the most expensive from a Chinese lab so far at $3/$15 per million input/output tokens—matching Claude Sonnet pricing. Self-reported benchmarks mostly beat Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 but lose to Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol. On Artificial Analysis's private long-horizon knowledge eval, K3 hit an Elo of 1547, +732 over K2.6, behind only Fable 5. Cost per task is $0.94, close to GPT-5.6 Sol's $1.04 and roughly half of Opus 4.8. Output tokens dropped 21% vs K2.6. The model only offers a 'max' reasoning effort; Simon's pelican-on-a-bike SVG cost 25 cents and burned 13,241 reasoning tokens. Input token count suggests an ~85-token hidden system prompt. Vision works well. Open weights promised by July 27.

Why it matters: Moonshot AI released Kimi K3, a 2.8T-param model priced at $3/$15 — matching Claude Sonnet and making it the most expensive Chinese lab model. Self-reported benchmarks mostly beat Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 high, but lose to Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol. Simon Willison's ta...