China's weekly AI foundation-model token use hit 28.13 trillion tokens in the week to Aug. 2, the 14th straight week as the global leader. Token platforms report rapid demand growth and peak-period undersupply amid periodic compute constraints, prompting providers to move from volume billing to tiered and dynamic pricing. Kimi has launched four monthly subscription tiers at 39–559 yuan; DeepSeek plans API price increases and will introduce peak–off-peak pricing, charging twice the normal rate du

China's weekly AI foundation-model token use hit 28.13 trillion tokens in the week to Aug. 2, the 14th straight week as the global leader. Token platforms report rapid demand growth and peak-period undersupply amid periodic compute constraints, prompting providers to move from volume billing to tiered and dynamic pricing. Kimi has launched four monthly subscription tiers at 39–559 yuan; DeepSeek plans API price increases and will introduce peak–off-peak pricing, charging twice the normal rate during 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–18:00.