Shares in technology group Meituan (MPNGF) were lower today despite joining a growing list of Chinese companies releasing U.S.-defying AI models.
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Cat Gets the Cream
Meituan, perhaps best known for being a leader in the Chinese food delivery market, has released an open-source large language model to the market called LongCat-Flash-Chat.
According to an article in the South China Morning Post, the model’s technical report reveals that the model features 560 billion total parameters and a so-called Mixture-of-Experts (MOE) architecture.
The MOE divides the model into separate sub-networks, or “experts”, that specialize in a subset of the input data to jointly perform a task.
When it comes to performance, the model was shown to be on par with that of DeepSeek’s V3.1, and Alibaba (BABA) Cloud’s Qwen 3 family. It also compared well with Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet and Google’s (GOOGL) Gemini 2.5 Flash.
AI Gauntlet
Meituan’s move into AI modelling not only challenges domestic rivals such as DeepSeek, but it is another example of a Chinese firm using an open-source approach to throw down the gauntlet to previously seemingly untouchable U.S. AI giants such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA).
In remarks from March, Meituan CEO Wang Xing said the delivery giant would adopt an aggressive AI approach. “AI will disrupt all industries, and our strategy is proactive offence rather than passive defence,” he said.
Its share price certainly needs some oomph. It has struggled in comparison with its peers this year – see below.
The Chinese government is also ramping up its support for the sector as it looks to take on the U.S. in fields such as technology, AI, and trade.
This stance has intensified since the return of President Trump to the Oval Office and his high-profile and controversial tariff policies. These have been particularly onerous on China.
Is MPNGF a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, MPNGF has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 8 Buy, 6 Hold and 2 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $22.06, implying a 26.34% upside.
