Zhipu AI Launches Free Autonomous AI Agent Amid Rising Competition in China’s AI Market
Chinese AI firm Zhipu AI has introduced a free AI agent named AutoGLM Rumination, entering the growing race among domestic tech firms to deliver advanced AI tools in a competitive landscape, as reported by Reuters.
The announcement was made during a launch event in Beijing, where CEO Zhang Peng outlined the agent’s capabilities, including deep web research, trip planning, and report writing.
Powered by In-House Models with Speed and Efficiency Claims
AutoGLM Rumination is driven by Zhipu’s proprietary large language models, including its GLM-Z1-Air reasoning engine and the GLM-4-Air-0414 foundation model. The company asserts that GLM-Z1-Air rivals DeepSeek's R1 in output quality but operates up to eight times faster and uses just a fraction, one-thirtieth of the computational resources.
This efficiency could offer significant cost and energy savings, potentially making Zhipu’s agent more scalable for widespread use.
According to Reuters, the launch follows a wave of new AI product releases in China, triggered by DeepSeek’s debut of a cost-efficient model that challenged US-based AI developers. Zhipu’s new agent entered the market shortly after Manus unveiled what it claimed was the world’s first general-purpose AI agent. Unlike Manus, which charges users up to $199 per month, Zhipu offers AutoGLM Rumination free via its official website and mobile platforms.
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University Roots and Government Support
Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from Tsinghua University, Zhipu AI has quickly risen to prominence in China’s AI ecosystem. The company is known for its GLM series of language models, with the latest iteration, GLM4, reportedly surpassing OpenAI’s GPT-4 in multiple benchmark tests.
Zhipu gained attention earlier this month after securing three funding rounds within just one month, all backed by Chinese government initiatives. The most recent investment was a 300-million-yuan ($41.5 million) injection from Chengdu.
