● What happened: Chinese AI shares fell sharply
● Investors reassessing: demand, valuations, export restrictions
● Against: Kimi K3.1 Pro is 4th on the Intelligence Index
● And: Chinese models were 41% of Hugging Face downloads to March 2026
Reuters reports that China's AI-stock boom has already reversed, with shares falling sharply as investors reassess three things at once: demand, valuations and export restrictions.
The timing is awkward against the model-side evidence. Kimi K3.1 Pro sits fourth on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index with open weights due in November, and Chinese models made up 41% of Hugging Face downloads in the year to March 2026. Capability and equity sentiment are moving in opposite directions.
That gap is the thing to watch rather than the selloff itself. Open-weight releases do not need public-market funding to keep shipping, which is precisely why the price of the listed vehicles and the pace of the models can diverge this far.
Sources
The Neuron, 27 October. Rio Rundown, 27 October.