🪦 Dead
MiniMax API Free Tier
Feature removed · Monetization Pivot · shut down April 13, 2026
- Born
- Died
- Lifespan
- 2y 3m
- Cause of death
- Monetization Pivot
- Killed by
- MiniMax
- Type
- Service
Chinese AI lab MiniMax was one of the most generous in offering free API access to developers. Killed its free tier two days before Alibaba's Qwen did the same, which signaled the end of the 'free forever' era of Chinese AI APIs as labs pivot from land-grab growth to sustainable economics.