Rednote joins wave of Chinese firms releasing open-source AI models
The approach contrasts with many U.S. tech giants like OpenAI and Google, which have kept their most advanced models proprietary, though some American firms including Meta have also released open-source models.
Open sourcing allows Chinese companies to demonstrate their technological capabilities, build developer communities and spread influence globally at a time when the U.S. has sought to stymie China's tech progress with export restrictions on advanced semiconductors.
Rednote's model, called dots.llm1, is available for download on developer platform Hugging Face. A company technical paper describing it was uploaded on Friday.
In coding tasks, the model performs comparably to Alibaba's Qwen 2.5 series, though it trails more advanced models such as DeepSeek-V3, the technical paper said.
RedNote, also known by its Chinese name Xiaohongshu, is an Instagram-like platform where users share photos, videos, text posts and live streams. The platform gained international attention earlier this year when some U.S. users flocked to the app amid concerns over a potential TikTok ban.
The company has invested in large language model development since 2023, not long after OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in late 2022.
It has accelerated its AI efforts in recent months, launching Diandian, an AI-powered search application that helps users find content on Xiaohongshu's main platform.
Other companies that are pursuing an open-source approach include Alibaba which launched Qwen 3, an upgraded version of its model in April.
Earlier this year, startup DeepSeek released its low-cost R1 model as open-source software, shaking up the global AI industry due to its competitive performance despite being developed at a fraction of the cost of Western rivals.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
7 minutes ago
- First Post
Trade talks on, but India responds to Trump tariffs on auto with a ‘right' to retaliate at WTO
India has informed the WTO of its plan to impose retaliatory duties on the US in response to steep American tariffs on auto imports. The move comes as both countries attempt to finalise a trade deal by July 9, with India insisting on its right to protect key export sectors. read more India has formally notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its intention to impose retaliatory duties on the United States in response to Washington's 25% tariffs on automobiles and certain auto parts. According to the notification, the American measures are expected to impact approximately $2.89 billion worth of Indian exports, prompting New Delhi to claim its right to suspend equivalent trade concessions. 'India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations… that are substantially equivalent to the adverse effects of the measure to India's trade,' the statement submitted to the WTO read. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the Indian government has not yet detailed the specific tariff rates or the list of U.S. goods to be targeted, it has indicated that the retaliation would match the estimated $725 million in duties the US will collect annually from these measures. The development comes amid ongoing efforts by both nations to conclude a trade deal before a July 9 deadline set by US President Donald Trump. Trump has warned that if no agreement is reached, a sweeping 26% tariff could be imposed on all Indian imports. India has expressed willingness to reduce some of its high tariffs for American goods but has held firm on sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy, where it has resisted Washington's demands for wider market access. The move was detailed in a WTO Council for Trade in Goods meeting, where India stated that it intends to suspend certain trade concessions and obligations under various WTO provisions. The US imposed the 25% tariff on March 26, applying it to imports of passenger cars, light trucks, and select automobile components. These duties, which took effect from May 3, 2025, will continue indefinitely. India maintains that these US tariffs amount to safeguard measures, a trade tool typically used to protect domestic industries from import surges. However, New Delhi has pointed out that Washington has not formally registered the measures as safeguards with the WTO—a requirement under international trade rules. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to India, the US action violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards. Since Washington has not responded to India's call for consultations, New Delhi has now exercised its right to seek compensation through retaliatory trade measures. This isn't the first time India has used this approach. Earlier in March, it adopted similar retaliatory measures in response to US tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium exports. India's latest move highlights its intent to defend its trade interests at the multilateral level even as it engages bilaterally to resolve differences with the United States. With inputs from agencies
Mint
44 minutes ago
- Mint
‘Notice the difference': Elon Musk claims major upgrade to Grok chatbot's question-answering abilities
Tech mogul Elon Musk has announced significant improvements to his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, as part of a wider strategy to challenge what he perceives as ideological bias in existing AI platforms. In a post shared on X on Friday, the tech billionaire stated, 'We have improved @Grok significantly. You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions.' The update is the latest development in Musk's bid to position Grok, developed by his AI venture xAI, as a credible alternative to tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Last month, the Tesla CEO unveiled plans to retrain Grok using what he described as a 'cleaner and more accurate version of human knowledge'. This retraining effort forms the backbone of an ambitious initiative to revise and enhance the global knowledge base. Writing on X, Musk suggested that the next major release of the system, potentially named Grok 3.5 or Grok 4, will feature heightened cognitive abilities. 'We will use Grok 3.5 (maybe we should call it 4), which has advanced reasoning, to rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge, adding missing information and deleting errors,' he stated. Central to Musk's vision is a pledge to build an AI that is free from what he calls the 'mind virus', a term he uses to describe ideological slant in current AI models. To that end, he is encouraging users to submit so-called 'divisive facts', claims that may be politically controversial but, in his view, reflect reality. xAI's Grok has positioned itself as a more unfiltered and open alternative to other chatbots, often adopting an edgier tone in responses. With this latest update, Musk is doubling down on his plans for a radically different model of AI, one that he argues is more truthful and less constrained by what he sees as prevailing cultural or institutional norms.
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump's 'big, beautiful bill': Why it's making China laugh
President Donald Trump gestures after speaking at a rallyin Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) On July 4, while Americans celebrated their independence, China may be celebrating something else: the greatest gift Washington has handed it in decades. President Donald Trump's newly passed 'One Big Beautiful Bill'-a sprawling 869-page tax and spending law-does more than enshrine his second-term agenda. It delivers a devastating blow to America's renewable energy industry at the exact moment artificial intelligence is fueling a global electricity arms race. And it gives President Xi Jinping and China a clear runway to dominate that future. 'There has never been a more intimate connection between a nation's ability to generate huge amounts of electricity at affordable prices... and its economic and military might,' the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote this week. "The Chinese can't believe their luck." Why it matters Experts say this may be one of the most self-destructive energy policies in modern history. 'It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,' Tesla CEO Elon Musk said. China, meanwhile, is doubling down on solar, wind, and battery power, preparing to lead the next economic era. Friedman warned in the New York Times: 'This dog's breakfast of a bill… is sure to put at risk billions of dollars of investments in renewable energy… and potentially kill the jobs of tens of thousands of US workers.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo The big picture Trump's bill quickly phases out tax credits for utility-scale wind and solar projects and cuts incentives for electric vehicle buyers years ahead of schedule. The bill adds intricate restrictions on battery tax credits that exclude companies tied to 'prohibited foreign entities' like China-ironically making the credits near-impossible to claim. The bill also kills the methane fee from the Inflation Reduction Act and delays permitting for key grid upgrades, all while locking in $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, $1.2 trillion in safety net reductions, and $350 billion in hardline immigration and military spending. Friedman summed it up sharply: 'In one fell swoop, this bill will make your home hotter, your air conditioning bill higher, your clean energy job scarcer, America's auto industry weaker and China happier.' Zoom in: Texas shows the stakes Texas has quietly become America's top clean power state. A Texas A&M report showed the state added 2,596 MW of solar, wind, and battery storage in just one quarter, overtaking California for the top spot. Texas grid expert Doug Lewin posted last week that the state added 10,000 megawatts of new power last year, mostly solar-plus-battery. 'Brownouts are down,' he said, 'and reliability is up.' But under Trump's bill, future projects will be more expensive, slower to build, and potentially ineligible for tax credits. That means higher costs for utilities-and for families. 'Now the electricity will cost consumers a lot more,' Lewin warned. What they're saying: Elon Musk: 'Utterly insane and destructive.' Nick Nigro, WSJ: 'The big-picture outlook for energy is we are going to be less competitive because of this law.' Ray Dalio : 'This will lead to unimaginable tax increases or a lot of printing and devaluing of money.' Thomas Friedman: 'China may have to make July 4 its own national holiday going forward: American Electricity Dependence Day.' Between the lines The bill's energy policies not only conflict with America's innovation trajectory-they also defy global trends. Saudi Arabia is building solar farms to power AI data centers. Even fossil-fuel giants are investing in green energy for strategic advantage. China is using a different playbook. In 2000, it produced 1,300 terawatt-hours of electricity. Now it generates over 10,000, while the US has only added 500 terawatt-hours in the same time. China's growth is increasingly coming from wind, solar, hydro, and battery projects-not coal. A Financial Times report from Shanghai described China's strategic evolution into an 'electrostate'-a nation powered by clean electricity and buffered against trade wars and geopolitical shocks, Friedman said in his NYT column. Debt dangers Beyond energy, the bill also obliterates fiscal sanity. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, warns that the legislation pushes America deeper into a debt spiral that could crash credit markets and destabilize the global economy. The bill's $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and defense spending will add another $3.4 trillion to the deficit by 2034, per the Congressional Budget Office. Government debt is now projected to hit 130% of GDP within a decade. That's worse than the US level after World War II. Dalio didn't mince words: 'Unless this path is soon rectified… big, painful disruptions will likely occur.' His concern? That interest payments will balloon to $2 trillion annually, forcing a mix of inflation, tax hikes, and spending cuts that gut the economy. The bill also adds $3.3 trillion to the deficit, with Ray Dalio warning it will erode investor confidence and increase financial instability. 'This path is unsustainable,' Dalio said. What's next Tariff trouble: Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs could drive up the cost and delay deployment of gas turbines and renewables even further. AI grid crunch: With AI data centers consuming vast amounts of electricity, grid expansion is urgent. But Trump's bill delays and obstructs transmission upgrades-slowing economic growth. Job losses: Research firm Energy Innovation projects the bill will increase wholesale electricity prices by 50% by 2035, raise household energy costs by $16 billion annually by 2030, and eliminate or prevent 830,000 renewable jobs. Trump calls it 'beautiful.' But to Beijing, it's miraculous. Friedman put it bluntly: 'There are only two political parties in the world today cheering the passage of this bill: Trump's Republican Party and the Chinese Communist Party.' Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
