As the AI race intensifies between the U.S. and China, Zhipu AI, a promising contender from China, announces a significant investment amidst geopolitical tech tensions. With backing from tech giants and amidst international restrictions, Zhipu AI is making waves in the AI universe.
➜ The Parallel AI Universes: U.S. vs. China
The global AI landscape is witnessing a clear bifurcation: the U.S. with its giants like OpenAI and Anthropic and China with its emerging powerhouses. Stepping into the limelight from China’s side is Zhipu AI, which has recently announced a staggering 2.5 billion yuan ($340 million) in financing this year alone.
➜ Zhipu AI: Born from Academic Excellence
Originating in 2019 from the esteemed corridors of China’s Tsinghua University, Zhipu AI is the brainchild of Tang Jie, a distinguished professor from the university’s Department of Computer Science and Technology.
➜ Tech Tensions and Strategic Moves
These are exciting times. The recent restrictions by the Biden administration on exporting Nvidia AI chips to China have added fuel to the already simmering tech rivalry. Predicting such moves, China’s AI moguls have been strategically hoarding semiconductors, investing heavily in these prized chips.
For Zhipu AI to stay competitive in this high-stakes AI marathon, they’ve ensured robust financial backing from local investors. Interestingly, the entire $340 million investment is sourced from yuan-denominated funds. This marks a significant departure from the past trend of relying on USD funds, a change brought about by the escalating geopolitical tech tensions.
➜ The Geopolitical Backdrop
Earlier in August, President Joe Biden’s executive order restricted U.S. investments in China’s pivotal tech sectors, including AI. While the move aims to limit China’s military expansion, it has also made American VCs wary of investing in these areas. Some, like Sequoia Capital China (now HongShan) and GGV Capital, have found workarounds by rebranding or restructuring their China operations.
Despite the challenges, Zhipu AI has garnered investments from a stellar list of Chinese tech titans. Notably, even traditional competitors like Alibaba and Tencent have come together to back Zhipu AI. Other significant investors include Ant Group, Xiaomi, Meituan, Kingsoft, TAL Education Group, and Boss Zhipin.
âžœ Zhipu’s AI Innovations
Zhipu AI isn’t just about big investments but also significant innovations. The company recently unveiled its bilingual conversational AI model, ChatGLM-6B. This model, trained on six billion parameters, can operate on a standard consumer-grade graphics card. Additionally, their open-sourced foundation model, GLM-130B, trained on a whopping 130 billion parameters, showcases their commitment to advancing AI research.
As the world watches the U.S. and China carve out their AI territories, companies like Zhipu AI prove that innovation knows no boundaries. With significant investments, strategic foresight, and groundbreaking research, Zhipu AI is undoubtedly a name to watch in the global AI arena.