OpenAI launches new developer tools as Chinese AI startups gain ground

OpenAI on Tuesday introduced a suite of new developer tools designed to streamline the creation of advanced AI agents, signaling a strategic move amid intensifying competition from Chinese AI startups.

The new Responses API, which is available to developers at no additional cost, will replace OpenAI’s existing Assistants API—a service scheduled to be phased out by the second half of 2026.

AI agents built using these tools are engineered to autonomously execute complex tasks without human intervention, a capability that is drawing interest from developers looking to innovate in fields ranging from robotics to customer service. By providing standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) for seamless data exchange and functionality integration, OpenAI aims to simplify the development process and accelerate the deployment of sophisticated AI solutions.

This development comes at a time when Chinese AI startups are rapidly gaining ground. Several companies in China have recently launched cutting-edge AI models that claim performance levels on par with or even superior to industry-leading models in the United States—all at a fraction of the cost. Among these, Chinese startup Monica has garnered significant attention with its newly launched autonomous AI agent, Manus. The company asserts that Manus outperforms OpenAI’s DeepResearch agent and announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with the team behind Alibaba's Qwen AI models to further boost its capabilities.

The surge of innovation from Chinese startups, which includes notable successes such as DeepSeek—hailed by Silicon Valley executives and U.S. tech engineers—underscores a shifting competitive landscape in the global AI market. With the introduction of the Responses API, OpenAI is not only enhancing its own toolset but also responding to growing industry pressures as emerging competitors push technological boundaries.

As both OpenAI and Chinese companies continue to push the envelope in AI development, the race to build more autonomous, efficient, and cost-effective solutions is set to reshape the future of the tech industry. The new developer tools from OpenAI are expected to fuel further innovation and may prompt a wave of advanced applications that could redefine how businesses and consumers interact with technology.

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