The leading domestic large model enterprise, Dark Side of the Moon, has announced its plan to officially launch a new multimodal AI model, tentatively named K2.1/K2.5, in the first quarter of 2026 (tentatively scheduled for January or March). This model is an upgrade of the previously released trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K2, and will focus on enhancing multimodal processing and core capabilities of intelligent agents, injecting new vitality into the dynamic of the AI industry.
Breakthroughs in both multimodal and agent capabilities
As an iterative version of Kimi K2, the new model inherits the advantages of the Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture in its technical approach and undergoes deep optimization for multi-dimensional information processing. Compared to its predecessor, the new model will further enhance the efficiency of understanding and transforming non-textual information such as visual and audio data. Simultaneously, it strengthens the autonomous decision-making and tool collaboration capabilities of the intelligent agent, promising to exert greater value in scenarios like AI intelligent assistants and cross-modal creation.
It is noteworthy that since its launch in July 2025, Kimi K2 has achieved multiple technological breakthroughs. Not only has it demonstrated outstanding performance in code generation and general task processing, but subsequent versions have also extended the context length to 256K, and introduced the Thinking model that supports "thinking while collaborating with tools". This has laid a solid technological foundation for this upgrade.
10 billion cash reserves to support research and development
Continuous technological innovation cannot be achieved without sufficient financial support. Yang Zhilin, founder and CEO of Dark Side of the Moon, revealed in a recent internal letter that the company's current cash reserves have exceeded RMB 10 billion, which will provide stable support for the research and development of multimodal models, technological iteration, and ecological layout. This funding scale also reflects the importance that domestic AI enterprises place on core technology research and development, providing strong guarantees for the high-quality development of the industry.
Leading manufacturers are accelerating their strategic layouts
The launch of new models also reflects the fierce competition in the domestic large model field. Currently, AI vendors such as Zhipu and MiniMax, who are in the same tier, are actively reserving funds and advancing IPO preparations, with the trend of industry resources concentrating towards the top becoming increasingly evident. In the technological competition in core tracks such as multimodal and intelligent agents, the launch of various innovative products will further enrich the AI tool navigation ecosystem, bringing more possibilities to enterprise-level applications and consumer markets.
