Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has recently secured over 1 billion yuan ($137.22 million) in new funding, following a 3 billion yuan investment received earlier. This funding round reflects the escalating competition in China's AI industry, particularly with key players advancing large language models to rival Western counterparts at reduced costs.
Among the investors in this round are State-backed Hangzhou City Investment Group Industrial Fund and Shangcheng Capital, as shared by Zhipu AI in a WeChat statement on Monday. The Beijing-based startup aims to utilize the funds to enhance its GLM large language model, broaden its AI ecosystem, and cater to businesses in Zhejiang province and the Yangtze River Delta economic zone.
The substantial investment from Hangzhou City Investment Group's industrial fund underscores Hangzhou's aspiration to establish itself as a prominent AI center. The city is already home to DeepSeek and actively supports artificial intelligence initiatives through state-owned enterprises.
Founded in 2019, Zhipu AI has conducted 16 funding rounds and is deemed one of by business registration platform Qichacha. In December, the company raised 3 billion yuan, attracting investments from state-backed Zhongguancun Science City.
As industry dynamics shift due to competing open-source AI models like DeepSeek's, Zhipu AI plans to introduce a range of new AI models under an open-source framework, including foundation models, inference models, multimodal models, and AI agents.
(Note: Updated grammar and phrasing for clarity and coherence.)