China’s Z.ai Scoffs at US Sanctions, Launches Supercharged AI With $1.5B War Chest

In brief Z.ai’s GLM-4.5 and Air models leapfrog Western AIs, hitting No. 3 globally in industry tests. The startup, blacklisted by Washington, raised $1.5B as Chinese state funds pile in. New models are open-source, super-efficient, and cost a fifth of Western rivals to use. Beijing-based Z.ai, recently added to the U.S. Entity List and backed...