Tuesday saw Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hint that the U.S. would scrutinise Chinese open-source models for signs of intellectual property (IP) theft, threatening sanctions if any were found.

The move comes as Chinese AI models, including Moonshot AI's Kimi K3, are seen as a threat to top American firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, potentially harming their business models and capital-raising abilities.

Earlier this month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella questioned the assumption that distilling another company’s model constitutes theft. While some argue that IP is being stolen, others suggest that China's research teams are simply more collaborative and efficient.

The U.S. has already restricted access to advanced chips and tightened export controls. Now, it seems they may target AI models themselves, marking a significant escalation in their technological competition with Chinese open-source alternatives.