Moonshot apologises after Kimi K3.1 Pro roll-out stumbles as promotional scrutiny widens

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up Moonshot AI has issued an apology for the limited availability of its latest model, the K3.1 Pro subscription plan, after a botched roll-out that has raised concerns over its promotional practices and cybersecurity measures. Moonshot's statement on X (formerly Twitter) expressed regret for the rate limits and quota issues, vowing that all active subscribers would receive a one-time usage reset, granting them 25% of their monthly quota back.

This came after users reported exhausting their usage limits in mere minutes, with one Reddit user claiming to have used up their five-hour allowance in just 10 minutes while building a basic 3D game demo. Moonshot, founded in 2023 and valued at $1 billion, introduced the K3.1 Pro as its most powerful model yet, though it has faced challenges with computational constraints before, suspending subscriptions just days after releasing Kimi K3 in July.

Additionally, the company is under scrutiny for alleged attempts to pay online influencers to promote the model without disclosing the sponsorship, a violation of social media platform policies and FTC guidelines. Despite these issues, Moonshot remains a significant player in China's AI landscape, with its open-weight models expected to be released by November 4.