Chinese AI models grab 46% of US token use

Chinese-built AI models, including DeepSeek and Z.ai's GLM 5.2, now account for over 30% of tokens used by US companies on OpenRouter weekly since Feb. 8, peaking at 46%, up from an 11% average over the prior 12 months. The shift is driven by rising costs of US frontier models from Anthropic and OpenAI, with Chinese models offering 60% to 90% cost savings while narrowing the performance gap.