In an event in Beijing, Chinese AI startup Zhipu AI recently launched a new free AI assistant called AutoGLM Rumination, marking its entry into the competitive AI market in the country. This AI agent is equipped to conduct in-depth research, perform tasks such as web searches, travel planning, and even write research reports. CEO Zhang Peng highlighted that the agent is powered by Zhipu’s exclusive models, including GLM-Z1-Air for reasoning and GLM-4-Air-0414 as the foundation model. Zhipu claims that their GLM-Z1-Air model matches the performance of DeepSeek’s R1 but operates up to eight times faster with significantly lesser computing resources required.
AI agents are sophisticated systems designed to autonomously make decisions and carry out various tasks. The introduction of AutoGLM Rumination follows a trend of AI product releases in China, particularly after DeepSeek’s cost-effective model disrupted the industry earlier this year. This announcement also comes shortly after Manus attracted attention for marketing the world’s first general AI agent, priced at up to $199 per month. In contrast, Zhipu’s AutoGLM Rumination will be accessible at no cost through the company’s official platforms like the GLM model website and mobile app.
Established in 2019 as a spinoff from Tsinghua University, Zhipu AI has emerged as a prominent player in China’s AI startup scene. The company’s development of the GLM model series has been praised, with claims that their latest large language model, GLM4, outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4 on various benchmarks. Zhipu garnered attention earlier this month for securing consecutive rounds of government-backed funding in a single month, including a significant investment from Chengdu city amounting to 300 million yuan ($41.5 million).
(Reported by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh; Edited by Kate Mayberry)
