COMPANIES · FOUNDATION MODELS
Zhipu AI
In the AI Economy Index: overseas-only listing
Zhipu AI (also branded Z.ai) is a Beijing-based company, spun out of Tsinghua University, that develops the GLM family of large language models.
Zhipu AI (also branded Z.ai) is a Beijing-based company, spun out of Tsinghua University, that develops the GLM family of large language models.
It is one of China's prominent "AI tiger" foundation-model companies and became the first major Chinese large-language-model firm to complete a stock exchange listing, debuting on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2026.
It sells API access to its GLM models, releases some versions under open-source licenses, and monetizes enterprise and cloud deployments.
China (Beijing)
Foundation models and AI laboratories. The organizations actually building the AI models themselves, like the systems behind ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. This is the most crowded, fastest-moving layer of the AI economy right now.
Earnings
No box score on file.
Connections (3)
Every connection below is tied to a readable source, date, classification and statement of its limits. A company source establishes what that company stated. It does not necessarily provide independent confirmation.
Current relationships (1)
Source: 2023-10-20 · reviewed 2026-09-20
Evidence: Secondary reporting of an on-record executive statement · Completed
Limits: Does not establish current ownership percentage, board seats, or whether Alibaba's stake changed ahead of Zhipu's 2026 IPO.
Alibaba, Tencent Join $340 Million Funding for AI Startup Zhipu ↗Comparisons (2)
Source: Source undated · reviewed 2026-09-20
Evidence: Analytical comparison · Ongoing
Limits: Does not establish market share, revenue comparison, or performance benchmarking.
Z.ai ↗Source: Source undated · reviewed 2026-09-20
Evidence: Analytical comparison · Ongoing
Limits: Does not establish market share or revenue comparison.
Six AI tigers ↗The first of China's 'AI tigers' goes public as Zhipu climbs in Hong Kong debut ↗
Reviewed
Inclusion in this database is not an endorsement of a company or its securities. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and this is not investment advice. See the disclosures. Data last updated .