Latest news with #LiuDebing
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Sam Altman-led OpenAI has a problem with this China's ‘AI tigers' company; says ‘The goal is to…'
OpenAI has raised concerns about Chinese artificial intelligence firm Zhipu AI, calling it a major player in China's bid to dominate the global AI market. In a blog post published Wednesday (June 25), the company said Zhipu AI has made 'notable progress' and is on the 'front line' of Beijing's push to expand its AI influence. Founded in 2019, Zhipu AI has been described by Chinese media as one of the country's 'AI tigers' — a group of high-growth large language model companies seen as key to China's strategy to reduce reliance on US technology. OpenAI highlights Zhipu AI's Beijing links and overseas activity According to OpenAI, Zhipu AI has received over $1.4 billion in backing from various state-linked sources and maintains close ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The company's leadership 'frequently engages with CCP officials, including Premier Li Qiang,' the blog post said. The ChatGPT-maker highlighted that Zhipu is also expanding globally, with offices in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East, and joint innovation centers in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. OpenAI warned that Zhipu's efforts align with China's 'Digital Silk Road' strategy, which aims to embed Chinese AI systems and standards into emerging markets. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How to Find Industrial Equipment Providers in Belgium (Learn More) Equipment Manufacturers | Search Ads Undo 'In practice, this means: forming an alliance that co-builds national LLMs with ASEAN and other Belt and Road capitals; opening joint innovation centers; embedding safety labs such as the new Dubai Content-Safety Lab (corroborated by CN sources); and, underwriting projects with Gulf capital (the Saudi Prosperity7 Aramco fund participated in a USD $400M round) and Huawei Ascend hardware, albeit not at Stargate-level scale,' the company highlighted. 'The goal is to lock Chinese systems and standards into emerging markets before US or European rivals can, while showcasing a 'responsible, transparent and audit-ready' Chinese AI alternative,' OpenAI said. Zhipu AI has not responded to OpenAI's latest remarks. However, company chairman Liu Debing said last week that Zhipu hopes to 'contribute China's AI power to the world.' Zhipu has also been linked to China's military modernization efforts. This led to its inclusion on the US Commerce Department's Entity List in January. The firm is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering and was last valued at around $2.78 billion. Meanwhile, OpenAI has been expanding its own presence. It recently secured a $200 million contract with the US Defense Department and announced an 'OpenAI for Government' program aimed at US public sector use. It also plans to build an AI-focused facility in the UAE under the $500 billion Stargate Project, backed by Abu Dhabi's MGX and Japan's SoftBank. Skullcandy Dime Evo: 5 Features That Make It Stand Out! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Blacklisted by the U.S. and backed by Beijing, this Chinese AI startup has caught OpenAI's attention
OpenAI is putting a spotlight on an under-the-radar artificial intelligence startup that it believes is on the "front line" of China's race to lead the world in AI — and its not DeepSeek. In a blog post on Wednesday, the company wrote that Beijing-backed Zhipu AI has made "notable progress" in the AI race, as global competition ramps up. Zhipu AI, founded in 2019, has been referred by domestic media as one of China's "AI tigers" — a class of large language model unicorns seen as key to Beijing's efforts to rival the U.S. and reduce its dependence on American technology. While fellow "AI tiger" DeepSeek has received the lion's share of international attention after it released its R1 model in January, OpenAI suggests that Zhipu's expansion outside China and its ties to Beijing deserve more attention. The startup has raised funds from several local governments, according to state media. "Zhipu AI leadership frequently engages with CCP officials, including Premier Li Qiang," OpenAI claimed, pegging the value of state-backed investments in the startup at over $1.4 billion. Zhipu AI reportedly has offices in the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia, and is also running joint "innovation centers" projects across Southeast Asia, including in Indonesia and Vietnam. Those factors could see Zhipu AI playing a key role in China's "Digital Silk Road" strategy, as it offers AI infrastructure solutions to governments around the world. "The goal is to lock Chinese systems and standards into emerging markets before US or European rivals can, while showcasing a 'responsible, transparent and audit-ready' Chinese AI alternative," OpenAI said. Zhipu AI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on OpenAI's statements. However, last week, Zhipu AI Chairman Liu Debing told reporters that the company hoped to contribute China's AI power to the world. These aims represent a threat to OpenAI, which has received Washington's support to promote its foundational models as the world's go-to AI offering. During a visit to the UAE in May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced over $200 billion in commercial deals in the region, including one for building a Stargate UAE AI campus by OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia and Cisco Systems. It's expected to be launched in 2026. The Stargate Project is a $500 billion AI-focused private sector investment vehicle, announced by OpenAI in January in partnership with Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX and Japan's SoftBank. This month, OpenAI was also awarded a $200 million contract to provide the U.S. Defense Department with artificial intelligence tools, and announced "OpenAI for Government," an initiative aimed at bringing its AI tools to public servants across the U.S. Zhipu is also said to be working with its domestic military, helping China's military to modernize through advanced artificial intelligence, which saw it added to the US Commerce Department's Entity List in January. The company has reportedly initiated preliminary steps toward launching an initial public offering. It has previously been valued at 20 billion yuan ($2.78 billion), according to local media reports.
Axios
4 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: OpenAI flags China's global ambitions
OpenAI says Chinese competitor Zhipu AI is aggressively courting governments in developing countries, aiming to entrench Chinese AI systems ahead of Western rivals. Why it matters: OpenAI and others argue that it's a must-win race between U.S. and China over whose technology will control a bot-filled world. Driving the news: OpenAI says a company called Zhipu AI is trying to pitch governments looking to invest in AI on their services as an alternative to the OpenAI for Countries push that launched last month. Zhipu AI is a foundation model developer that rivals DeepSeek with global ambitions, OpenAI says. "While promoting the development of domestic large-scale model technology, we also hope to contribute China's AI power to the world," Zhipu AI Chairman Liu Debing said last week. The company has backing from the Chinese government and from a unit of Saudi oil giant Aramco, which participated in the company's recent $400 million funding round. Zoom in: OpenAI says its analysts have found that Zhipu is trying to make inroads in various countries in Asia and Africa. "The goal is to lock Chinese systems and standards into emerging markets before US or European rivals can, while showcasing a 'responsible, transparent and audit-ready' Chinese AI alternative," the company said in a blog post. OpenAI, meanwhile, has been pitching companies in the Middle East, Asia and other regions to partner on AI infrastructure. The company announced its first deal last month: a partnership with the United Arab Emirates to build a massive Stargate UAE data center in Abu Dhabi. The big picture: The Trump Administration, tech leaders and others have positioned the battle over AI as the biggest of several must-win technology races, along with battles for leadership in semiconductors, quantum computing and alternative energy. Through a series of executive orders, Trump has rolled back policies and regulations from the prior administration in favor of an approach focused on fostering U.S. supremacy. "We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off, and we'll make every effort to encourage pro-growth AI policies," Vice President J.D. Vance said at the Paris AI Action Summit in February.
South China Morning Post
15-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China AI unicorn Zhipu eyes IPO filing this year after DeepSeek's success
Zhipu AI, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence (AI) unicorn born out of China's prestigious Tsinghua University, has filed pre-initial public offering (IPO) documents with China's securities regulator as it eyes a public listing as soon as 2026 amid an increasingly competitive domestic landscape. Advertisement The 6-year-old company submitted the tutoring documents to the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau on Monday, a key compliance step before formally applying to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The start-up plans to finalise its IPO application preparation by October, with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) serving as the tutoring institution. This would set it up for a possible IPO next year, but the company did not specify which exchange it is targeting. Meituan , Zhipu – whose controlling shareholders are founder Tang Jie, a renowned Tsinghua computer scientist, and chairman Liu Debing – has attracted more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) in funding. Investors include state-backed entities such as Beijing's Zhongguancun Science City, Beijing AI Industry Investment Fund and local government funds from the cities of Chengdu, Hangzhou and Zhuhai. Venture capital firms HongShan Capital Group, GL Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners, Lightspeed China Partners and Capital Today are also backers, as are a number of Chinese tech giants, including Xiaomi Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding , owner of the South China Morning Post, according to corporate database Tianyancha and company announcements. Zhipu has quickly risen to become a darling of China's AI industry and is considered one of its 'four tigers' , alongside start-ups Baichuan, Moonshot AI and MiniMax. It has recently made some strategic investments as it looks to expand. 05:00 Does the arrival of China's low-cost DeepSeek mean the end of Nvidia's chip dominance? Does the arrival of China's low-cost DeepSeek mean the end of Nvidia's chip dominance? Last year, Zhipu launched a 1.5 billion yuan venture fund called 'Z', targeting early-stage AI start-ups. The fund has backed dozens of companies, including AI infrastructure firm Infinigence AI, Siliconflow, Modelbest and multimodal AI developer Vidu.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Zhipu AI takes initial steps to an IPO
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has initiated preliminary steps toward an initial public offering, aiming to become the first of China's emerging AI companies to go public. Founded in 2019 as a Tsinghua University spinoff, Zhipu AI has emerged among China's front-runners in the artificial intelligence race, alongside AI-focused startups Moonshot AI, Minimax, Baichuan, and StepFun, while also competing with tech giants such as ByteDance and Alibaba in the sector. The company attracted attention earlier this year after securing three rounds of state-backed funding within weeks. Its latest financing included a 300 million yuan ($41.5 million) investment from the Chengdu municipal government. Zhipu AI, developer of the GLM series of language models, claims its flagship GLM4 model surpasses OpenAI's GPT-4 on several performance benchmarks. The company announced Tuesday it would open-source its GLM series models, namely the 32B and 9B versions. Its GLM-Z1-32B-0414 model matches the performance of rival product DeepSeek-R1 at one-thirtieth of the operational cost, according to a company statement. Zhipu AI is controlled by Tang Jie and Liu Debing, with Tang directly holding a 7.4% equity stake in the company, according to the regulatory filing. China International Capital Corporation will act as the IPO sponsor, according to a filing posted on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website. As sponsor, CICC will conduct preliminary due diligence on Zhipu's operations and financials. The sponsorship arrangement is a mandatory prerequisite in China's IPO process, typically lasting several months during which sponsors assess the company's eligibility for public listing. Sign in to access your portfolio
