{"slug": "chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-with-cost-effective-coding-model", "title": "China’s Zhipu AI sparks new ‘DeepSeek moment’ with cost-effective coding model", "summary": "Beijing-based Zhipu AI released its GLM-5.2 coding model, which ranks in the top three globally on a major benchmark, sparking comparisons to DeepSeek's earlier disruption of the AI industry. The open-weight model is praised by users as the first reliable for daily coding workflows, challenging US tech dominance.", "body_md": "# China’s Zhipu AI sparks new ‘DeepSeek moment’ with cost-effective coding model\n\nWhile other Chinese releases have made significant gains, GLM-5.2 is the first model to rank in the top three globally on a major benchmark\n\n[shook Silicon Valley](https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3340422/deepseek-year-how-little-known-chinese-start-sparked-global-ai-arms-race?module=inline&pgtype=article)with its powerful yet affordable artificial intelligence model, Beijing-based Zhipu AI has delivered another jolt to the US tech industry.\n\n[Zhipu’s new flagship model, GLM-5.2.](https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3357115/zhipu-ais-stock-rockets-after-chinese-firm-makes-glm-52-open-source?module=inline&pgtype=article)Released earlier this month, the model’s release is being hailed by some as a new “DeepSeek moment”, with users calling it the first-ever open-weight model reliable enough for day-to-day coding workflows.\n\nMatt Velloso, a former vice-president at Meta Platforms and Google DeepMind, said on X earlier this month that he had been using GLM-5.2 “all day” and found it to be the “first open model that passes the bar as a daily driver”.\n\n“Things are not going to be the same,” Velloso wrote. Responding to a user comparing GLM-5.2 to OpenAI’s proprietary GPT-5.5 released in April, he added that the Chinese model was “more to the point, doesn’t talk too much, doesn’t go in circles trying to explain itself, just does the job”.\n\nZhipu AI, known internationally as Z.ai, made GLM-5.2 available on June 13. The launch came a day after leading US lab Anthropic shelved its most advanced public-facing model, Claude Fable 5, to comply with a Washington directive blocking foreign users.\n\nWhile recent Chinese releases like DeepSeek V4 Pro, MiniMax M3 and Alibaba’s Qwen3.7-Max have made significant gains, GLM-5.2 stands out as the first Chinese model to rank in the top three globally on a major benchmark.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-with-cost-effective-coding-model", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3358434/chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-cost-effective-coding-model?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-06-26 04:06:08+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-26 04:19:55.504183+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["large-language-models", "generative-ai", "ai-products", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["Zhipu AI", "GLM-5.2", "DeepSeek", "OpenAI", "Anthropic", "Alibaba", "Matt Velloso", "Google DeepMind"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-with-cost-effective-coding-model", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-with-cost-effective-coding-model.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-with-cost-effective-coding-model.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-zhipu-ai-sparks-new-deepseek-moment-with-cost-effective-coding-model.jsonld"}}