Chinese AI like DeepSeek grew from 6-13% to 57-67% of OpenRouter's traffic.
OpenRouter is a gateway companies use to access AI models from different makers.
In the week of 14 September, Chinese models handled 57% to 67% of the text processed there, according to usage data shared with CNBC. In February, their share was 6% to 13%.
Vercel saw the same shift on its developer platform: 55% in August, up from 11% in January.
The models come from DeepSeek, Z.ai and Alibaba, among others. U.S. models still lead most benchmarks, CNBC reported.
Vercel's Harpreet Arora points to price. "Once a model meets the quality bar for the job, that price difference becomes compelling," Arora, who runs agent infrastructure at Vercel, told CNBC. Companies still send harder tasks to the top U.S. models, he added.
About half of the text processed on OpenRouter comes from U.S. companies. Two House committees are now investigating the rise of Chinese models.
Does your company know which country's model answers its AI requests?
Image: AI-generated.
Sources
Our file on DeepSeek
All 2 DeepSeek storiesFor your next steering committee
- 1Ask which AI tools already touch your ERP or finance data, including the ones nobody approved.
- 2Ask what each tool is allowed to change, and who reviews what it changed.
- 3Ask how the result is measured, and who decides to switch a tool off.
Issue 01 of the ERP LEADERS brief puts a timeline, the three-number review and six questions on one page. Read issue 01
Welcome back. · Issue 01
