Chinese Tech Giants Bet $342 Million on Homegrown AI Startup Zhipu to Rival ChatGPT

Alibaba, Tencent and other major Chinese backers invest $342 million in AI start-up Zhipu AI this year.

Zhipu AI is developing its own large language model to compete with ChatGPT.

The startup's valuation reached $1 billion after a funding round involving Alibaba and Tencent.

Zhipu AI was one of the first Chinese chatbot services approved for public rollout by the government.

The startup was founded in 2019 based on research from Tsinghua University, where the CEO earned his PhD.