China's Zhipu Ai Raises $137 Million as State Funds Bet on Ai Race
Zhipu AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has raised over 1 billion yuan ($137.22 million) in fresh funding, months after securing a 3 billion yuan investment. The funding round comes amid intensifying competition in China's AI sector, particularly after rival DeepSeek's emergence with its large language models that claim to match Western competitors' capabilities at lower costs. Zhipu AI plans to use the funds to enhance its GLM large language model and expand its AI ecosystem.
- This significant investment from state-backed Hangzhou City Investment Group highlights the eastern Chinese city's push to become a major AI hub, positioning Zhipu AI as a key player in China's AI landscape.
- Will this renewed focus on open-source AI models, including foundation models, inference models, multimodal models, and AI agents, disrupt the dominance of Western platforms like OpenAI and signal a new era for second-tier AI firms?