TECH

Xiaomi Slashes AI Model API Prices by 99% to Match DeepSeek

Published: May. 28, 2026 12:32 a.m. GMT+8

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On May 27, Xiaomi announced steep API price cuts for its latest MiMo-V2.5 AI models, slashing original rates by up to 99%. Photo: VCG

Xiaomi Corp. has slashed the application programming interface (API) prices for its flagship artificial intelligence models by up to 99%, matching the rates of local rival DeepSeek.

The aggressive discounts threaten to reignite a price war in China’s hyper-competitive AI sector, defying a broader industry shift toward monetization and price hikes by global leaders like OpenAI.

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Xiaomi slashed AI API prices by up to 99%, matching DeepSeek’s rates, threatening a price war in China’s AI sector.
Daily token consumption for MiMo-V2.5-Pro surged 111% on OpenRouter following the announcement.
The cuts contrast with global AI price hikes by OpenAI and others, amid Xiaomi's 43.1% net profit plunge in Q1.

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Who’s Who

...: Xiaomi slashed its AI model API prices by up to 99% to match competitor DeepSeek, reigniting a price war in China's AI sector. This contrasts with global trends of monetization and price hikes by OpenAI. The move follows Xiaomi's weak Q1 financial results and DeepSeek's earlier price cuts.

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What Happened When

First quarter of 2026：: Zhipu AI raised its API prices by 83%.

April 2026：: Xiaomi's large model head Luo Fuli warned against blind price wars before companies could establish sustainable business models.

May 22, 2026：: DeepSeek slashed the price of its V4-Pro model by 75%.

May 26, 2026：: Alibaba offered half-price discounts and free daily usage for its Qwen3.7-Max model.

May 27, 2026：: Xiaomi announced new pricing plan for its MiMo-V2.5-Pro and MiMo-V2.5 models, with API price cuts up to 99%, matching DeepSeek rates. Daily token consumption for MiMo-V2.5-Pro surged 111% on OpenRouter.

As of unspecified recent date before the article event：: Xiaomi CFO Lin Shiwei disclosed that 30% of the company's AI API usage comes from paying subscribers, with overseas users accounting for more than half of that group.

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