Z.ai shares surge 8% after releasing new AI model running only on Chinese chips

The Zhipu or Z.ai logo is pictured on a smartphone on Aug. 14, 2026.

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BEIJING — Chinese artificial intelligence company Z.ai released a new model Wednesday that the company claims uses entirely homegrown semiconductors to operate.

Called GLM-5.3-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.

Z.ai's Hong Kong-listed shares climbed more than 8% in Thursday trading.

The company claimed it used 100,000 China-made chips to handle all online requests to use GLM-5.3-Flash, including when it was released on Aug. 20 under the code name "Ox Alpha." The model ranked first by usage in the last week on the global OpenRouter platform.

CNBC was unable to independently verify Z.ai's chip claims. The company declined to share details on which companies' chips it was using. Running an AI model requires less computing power than training a model.

Nvidia has struggled to sell its chips to China due to restrictions from Washington and Beijing. Meanwhile, Huawei and other Chinese companies have ramped up efforts to build alternatives.

China has ramped up domestic semiconductor and AI capabilities in an effort to gain tech self-sufficiency in the wake of U.S. restrictions on sales of advanced chips to China. Leading U.S. AI models are also not officially available in China.

Z.ai rival MiniMax's shares climbed by around 3% in Hong Kong trading after reporting a 283% surge in revenue in the first half of the year versus a year ago.

MiniMax reported adjusted net loss more than doubled during that time to $293 million. The company'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.

The two AI companies both listed in Hong Kong in January. While Z.ai shares have skyrocketed by more than 800% since the IPO, MiniMax shares have only climbed by over 80%.

— CNBC's Jenny Lee contributed to this report