AI race: Chinese startup Zhipu AI launches 'faster than Deepseek' free agent

Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has launched a free AI agent, AutoGLM Rumination, intensifying competition in the nation's rapidly evolving AI landscape. 

The announcement, made on Monday by CEO Zhang Peng, positions Zhipu AI against both domestic and international rivals in the burgeoning AI sector.

The newly released AutoGLM Rumination is designed for deep research and various autonomous tasks, including web searches, travel planning, and report writing. 

Powered by Zhipu's proprietary AI models—GLM-Z1-Air for reasoning and GLM-4-Air-0414 as its foundation — the company claims its technology is significantly more efficient than competitors. 

Zhipu states that GLM-Z1-Air rivals DeepSeek's R1 model in performance, while operating up to eight times faster and requiring only one-thirtieth of the computing resources.

The launch follows a wave of AI advancements in China, spurred by DeepSeek's disruptive entry into the industry earlier this year. 

DeepSeek gained prominence by introducing an AI model that boasted significantly lower operational costs than US-based counterparts such as OpenAI's GPT series and Google's Gemini models. 

The move challenged the dominance of Western AI firms and underscored China's growing capabilities in artificial intelligence development.

AutoGLM Rumination's introduction also follows Manus’ recent debut of what it claimed to be the world's first general AI agent, capable of executing tasks with minimal user prompting. Unlike Manus, which charges users up to $199 per month, Zhipu AI has opted to provide AutoGLM Rumination for free via its official website and mobile app.

Founded in 2019 as a spinoff from a Tsinghua University laboratory, Zhipu AI has established itself as a leading AI innovator in China.

The company's GLM model series has gained recognition, with its latest version, GLM4, reportedly outperforming OpenAI’s GPT-4 in several benchmark tests.

The startup recently secured three consecutive rounds of government-backed funding in a single month, with its latest investment of 300 million yuan ($41.5 million) coming from the city of Chengdu. 

The Chinese government's support signals Beijing's broader strategic push to bolster its domestic AI industry in response to competition from US tech giants.

Meanwhile, state-run broadcaster CCTV last week spotlighted Manus for the first time, underscoring its growing prominence. Beijing's backing of emerging AI firms like Manus and DeepSeek suggests a coordinated effort to accelerate China's AI advancements and challenge Western dominance in artificial intelligence.

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