Every month, hundreds of millions of people visit Pinterest to hunt for new styles and ideas. One popular page called “the most ridiculous things” delivers bizarre inspiration. It shows Crocs reused as flower pots. It features cheeseburger-shaped eyeshadow. It even displays a gingerbread house built from vegetables.
Many users do not realise the technology behind these suggestions is not always American. Pinterest now experiments with Chinese artificial intelligence models to improve its recommendation engine. The platform increasingly relies on this technology to personalise shopping and discovery.
Pinterest chief executive Bill Ready said the company has reshaped the platform into an AI-powered shopping assistant. The San Francisco-based firm could work with many American AI labs. Instead, it increasingly integrates Chinese-developed models behind the scenes.
A breakthrough from DeepSeek
China’s influence inside Pinterest grew after the release of DeepSeek R-1 in January 2025. Ready described the launch as a breakthrough moment. He said the developers released the model as open source. That choice triggered a surge in open-source innovation.
The decision encouraged rapid experimentation across the industry. Other Chinese companies soon followed the same approach. Alibaba rolled out its Qwen models. Moonshot released its Kimi system. ByteDance also develops similar large language technology.
These models now compete directly with established American systems. They increasingly power products used daily by millions of people.
Open source changes the economics
Pinterest Chief Technology Officer Matt Madrigal said open-source access makes these models attractive. Companies can download and customise them freely. Many American rivals restrict access to their most advanced systems.
Madrigal said Pinterest trains its own models using open-source techniques. He said these internal systems outperform many ready-made alternatives. According to him, accuracy improves by around 30 percent.
Costs also fall sharply. Madrigal said expenses sometimes drop by as much as ninety percent. Proprietary models from US developers often cost far more.
Fast, cheap, and spreading fast
Pinterest is not alone in adopting Chinese AI technology. Many large American companies now depend on these models. Their use continues to spread across corporate America.
Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky said his company relies heavily on Alibaba’s Qwen. The model powers Airbnb’s AI customer service agent. Chesky gave three reasons for the choice. He said it is very good. He said it is fast. He said it is cheap.
More evidence appears on Hugging Face, a major platform for downloading AI models. Developers there access systems from companies like Meta and Alibaba. The platform tracks which models gain momentum.
Jeff Boudier, who builds products at the platform, said cost drives many decisions. Young start-ups often prefer Chinese models over American ones. Download data reflects that shift.
Chinese models take the lead
Boudier said Chinese models frequently dominate popularity rankings. In some weeks, four of the five leading training models come from Chinese labs. That pattern repeats itself often.
In September, Alibaba’s Qwen overtook Meta’s Llama. It became the most downloaded family of large language models on the platform. Developers quickly adapted to the change.
Meta released its open-source Llama models in 2023. Developers long viewed them as the default choice for custom applications. That position weakened after DeepSeek and Alibaba entered the market.
Silicon Valley reassesses
Meta released Llama 4 last year. Many developers described the update as disappointing. Reports suggest Meta now uses open-source models from Alibaba, Google, and OpenAI to train a new system. The company plans to release it this spring.
Airbnb uses several AI models at once. That includes systems developed in the United States. The company hosts all models within its own infrastructure. It says it never shares user data with model developers.
A changing balance of power
At the start of 2025, many analysts believed Chinese firms were close to pulling ahead. Massive American investment no longer guaranteed leadership. The conversation has since shifted.
Boudier said the strongest models now come from open-source communities. A recent Stanford University report supports that conclusion. Researchers found Chinese models have matched or surpassed global competitors.
The study measured technical performance and user adoption. It suggested Chinese developers have closed the gap. In some areas, they have already moved ahead.
Focus versus ambition
In a recent interview with a British broadcaster, former UK deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg criticised American priorities. He said US firms focus too heavily on building AI that surpasses human intelligence.
Clegg previously led global affairs at Meta. Mark Zuckerberg has committed billions to achieving what he calls superintelligence. Some experts now describe those ambitions as unclear.
Clegg said this lack of focus gives China an opening. He argued China now does more to democratise the technology it competes over.
Pressure mounts on US firms
The Stanford report also pointed to strong government backing inside China. That support may explain part of its success in open-source development.
Meanwhile, American AI companies face intense pressure to generate revenue. Firms like OpenAI must balance research with profitability. Some now turn to advertising to support growth.
OpenAI released two open-source models last summer. It marked the company’s first such release in years. Most resources still flow into proprietary systems designed to make money.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the company invests aggressively in computing power. He said revenue will grow quickly. He also said spending on future models will remain heavy.
