Chinese AI company Z.ai released a new model Wednesday that it claims runs entirely on homegrown semiconductors, a milestone in China's push for chip self-sufficiency. Shares of the Hong Kong-listed company climbed more than 8% in Thursday trading following the announcement.
Called GLM-5-Flash, the low-cost version of Z.ai's flagship model ranks 10th on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, ahead of DeepSeek V4 Pro Max. The company said it used 100,000 China-made chips to handle all online requests for GLM-5-Flash, including when it launched Aug. 20 under the code name "Ox Alpha." The model ranked first by usage on the global OpenRouter platform in the past week.
CNBC was unable to independently verify Z.ai's chip claims. The company declined to share details on which chipmakers it sourced from.
What the chip claim signals
Running an AI model requires less computing power than training one, which lowers the barrier for domestic chip adoption. Nvidia has struggled to sell its chips in China due to export restrictions from Washington, while Huawei and other Chinese companies have accelerated efforts to build alternatives.
Z.ai is likely using Huawei Ascend chips along with other suppliers, said Ivan Lam, senior research analyst at Counterpoint. He said more Chinese companies are working closely together for deeper collaboration across hardware and software.
"Chinese AI model developers have continued to allocate more resources and investment toward AI servers and computing infrastructure built on domestic chips," Lam said.
China has ramped up domestic semiconductor and AI capabilities in response to U.S. restrictions on advanced chip sales. Leading U.S. AI models are also not officially available in China, creating room for domestic alternatives to grow.
Rival MiniMax reports strong revenue growth
Z.ai rival MiniMax saw its shares climb about 3% in Hong Kong trading after reporting a 283% surge in revenue in the first half of the year versus a year earlier. The company's adjusted net loss more than doubled during that period to $293 million.
MiniMax's flagship M3 model ranks 18th on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index. Z.ai is scheduled to report results for the first six months of the year on Monday.
Both companies listed in Hong Kong in January. Z.ai shares have risen more than 800% since the IPO, while MiniMax shares have climbed over 80%.
The developments highlight how Chinese AI firms are building out Generative AI and LLM capabilities with domestic infrastructure. For professionals tracking AI for IT & Development, the shift matters because it signals a growing divide between AI ecosystems in the U.S. and China, each with its own hardware supply chains and model offerings.
Why this matters for IT and development professionals
For developers and IT teams, the practical takeaway is that AI model performance is no longer tied exclusively to Nvidia hardware. Z.ai's claim, if accurate, shows that inference workloads can run on domestic Chinese chips at scale. That could affect hardware procurement decisions and deployment strategies for companies operating in China or building products for the Chinese market.
The competitive pressure is also pushing down costs. GLM-5-Flash is positioned as a low-cost model, and MiniMax's revenue surge suggests demand for Chinese AI models is growing quickly. For professionals evaluating AI vendors, that means more options at lower price points - but also a need to assess which models and infrastructure will remain viable as U.S.-China tech restrictions evolve.
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