StepFun joins the frontier: a previously non-frontier Chinese lab (StepFun) released a Kimi K3-level model, 3 times cheaper per Artificial Analysis
StepFun, a Chinese lab, has released its Step 5 Preview model, which Artificial Analysis indicates performs at a Kimi K3-level. This new model is reportedly three times cheaper than Kimi K3, positioning StepFun firmly on the Pareto line for cost-intelligence. This release suggests the competitive race in AI development continues, with new players emerging to challenge established models on both performance and price. Meanwhile, Google's global lab ranking reportedly dropped from #7 to #8.
Time & source
Times shown in UTC
Display time zone: UTC
Local time zone unavailable; showing UTC.
PublishedOffset at this time: UTC+0Sep 19, 2026, 05:18 UTC
IngestedOffset at this time: UTC+0Sep 19, 2026, 17:00 UTC
- Published
- Sep 19, 2026, 05:18
- Ingested
- Sep 19, 2026, 17:00
- Source type
- Dev community
- Tier
- Community
- Source status
- Healthy
Tier is a per-source editorial setting, not a per-item score.
So the race, despite everything, continues. StepFun releases Step 5 Preview, scoring equally to Kimi K3 (max) (44), at 1/3 the price, and stands firmly on the Pareto line of cost/intelligence.
However, as a closed-source model, it remains to be seen how competitive this will be against other Chinese labs. Nonetheless, it seems that another Chinese lab has reached the frontier and shows that China has not stopped progressing in the meantime. It remains to be seen if they'll stay there in the coming months.
On another note, Google fell from #7 lab in the world to #8 lol get rekt