Moonshot, DeepSeek staff find voice on X amid Silicon Valley secrecy
Around 30 Moonshot-affiliated accounts now post on X, sharing research and recruiting.
Chinese AI researchers are increasingly using X as their primary platform for global technical discourse, a shift that became pronounced after DeepSeek's R1 model went viral in early 2025. Moonshot AI—the startup behind Kimi K3—has about 30 active accounts run by current employees, cofounders, and collaborators on X. These researchers discuss new releases, share incremental research papers, interact with Western peers, and even post personal updates. Similar activity can be seen from staff at Minimax, Z.ai, and DeepSeek, whose employees reportedly cannot leave China due to passport confiscation but still regularly post AI news and job listings on X.
Why X? Chinese researchers say domestic platforms like Zhihu and Xiaohongshu have deteriorated into gossip and low-quality content, with Zhihu pivoting toward fiction and expert contributors leaving. On X, the recommendation algorithm surfaces relevant AI discussions to a technically literate audience, making it the "best community" for serious technical exchange, according to Meng Fanqing, cofounder of Evolvent AI and former Moonshot intern who worked on Kimi K2.5. Meanwhile, researchers at OpenAI and Anthropic have grown more guarded about sharing model architecture details, leaving a hunger for technical insight that Chinese researchers are filling.
- Moonshot AI has ~30 active X accounts from employees, cofounders, and collaborators sharing research and personal updates.
- DeepSeek staff regularly post on X despite passport restrictions, using the platform to recruit international talent.
- Researchers claim X fills a gap left by OpenAI/Anthropic employees who post less about model details, and beats Chinese platforms like Zhihu and Xiaohongshu for technical depth.
Why It Matters
X is now the best window into Chinese AI labs' thinking, recruiting, and technical roadmaps for global professionals.