Skip to Main Content

Skip to...

Select

• What To Read Next

Subscribe Sign In

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-race-to-build-an-american-alternative-to-cheap-ai-from-china-2e99a28a

The Race to Build an American Alternative to Cheap AI From China

Silicon Valley startups are setting up open models, with some operating on shoestring budgets because of limited interest from VCs

17

---

Listen

(2 min)

Emil Lendof/WSJ, iStock

By

Kate Clark

and

Sam Schechner

Aug. 1, 2026 9:00 pm ET

In late 2025, a little-known Silicon Valley startup bet much of its remaining cash on a lofty goal: building the strongest open-weight AI model it could.

The startup, Arcee AI, pulled it off after a 33-day pretraining run, with far less funding than the industry’s biggest labs. The result is a cheap artificial-intelligence system that users can download and customize, an American counterpart to a host of upstart Chinese models that are shaking up the AI race.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Already a subscriber? Sign In

Advertisement

---

Up Next

OpenAI Surpasses One Billion Users After Cutting Prices

July 31, 2026

The announcement comes after OpenAI said earlier this week it was cutting the price of several of its models.

Continue To Article

---

How OpenAI Lost Its AI Crown—and the Fight to Win It Back

July 31, 2026

Bets on consumer chatbots and flashy side projects overshadowed AI coding opportunity, which rival Anthropic used to capture the lead.

Continue To Article

---

Advertisement

America Is Great at Creating Stock Market Bubbles—and Shrugging Them Off

1 hour ago

One day the bust will be the big one. But for now the pullback in AI-related stocks has been almost completely offset by gains elsewhere.

Continue To Article

---

Wall Street Thinks It Knows How Tech Giants Will Make AI Pay

17 hours ago

Investors are coming around to the idea that Big Tech spending on AI can make sense—as long as there is a cloud-computing business involved.

Continue To Article

---

Move Fast and Regulate Later: The Paradox of China’s Economic Dynamism

July 31, 2026

In the U.S., regulation can protect incumbents while discouraging entrepreneurs. China gives fast-moving startups room to grow before exerting state control.

Continue To Article

---

Rogue AI Hacks Herald New Era of Cyber Chaos

4 hours ago

Security experts find validation of their fears after AI hacking models from OpenAI and Anthropic escaped corporate test-beds.

Continue To Article

---

My girlfriend is 62. Can she claim her late husband’s full Social Security benefit — or does she have to wait?

5 hours ago

“Her husband passed away 10 years ago. They had been married for more than 20 years.”

Continue To Article

---

Beverly Hills Mansion ‘Black-ish’ Creator Kenya Barris Bought From Zedd Lists for $20.8 Million

6 hours ago

Located at the top of a canyon, the home has floor-to-ceiling windows in nearly every room and landscaping to optimize privacy

Continue To Article

---

WSJ | Buy Side

Reviews and recommendations, independent of The Wall Street Journal newsroom.

Student Loans

Best Private Student Loans

Student Loans

Student Loan Rates: What Borrowers Need to Know

Personal Loans

Best Debt Consolidation Loans

Auto Insurance

Cheap Full-Coverage Car Insurance

Banking

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts: Up to 4.50%

Financial Advisors

10 of the Best Financial Advisor Companies: Well-Known Fiduciary Investment Firms to Consider

---

Real Estate Insights

Content provided by Realtor

New York City Family Snaps Up $47M St. Regis-Branded Penthouse in Miami's 'Manhattan of the South'

Inside Carly Simon's Martha's Vineyard Retreat Where She 'Withdrew From View'

Angelina Jolie Can Finally Quit L.A.—but She Still Has $30 Million Mansion To Sell

Ali Larter Shares Glimpse Inside 'Simple' Idaho Lifestyle After Quitting L.A.

The ‘Widow Tax’ Could Reshape the Great Wealth Transfer

EXCL: Bill Cosby Delists $6 Million New York Home Amid Health Struggles

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.

content frame

An error has occurred

To continue reading, choose an option below.

Unlimited Access

Subscribe to WSJ Today

Just $2/Week

• Unlimited access to world-class journalism

• Breaking news alerts with the WSJ app

• Exclusive podcasts and newsletters

Subscribe Now

You can cancel any time.

or

Create Your Free Account

Enjoy limited free articles, newsletters, and more.

Email

Create Account

Or continue with

Already a WSJ subscriber? Sign In

Read Original at WSJ →