Four Z.AI founders worked on research partly funded by CGTRI
Bloomberg reports that four co-founders of Z.AI contributed to a nearly four-year AI research project co-funded by the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) and China’s National Natural Science Foundation. The project aimed to analyze social-media posts and map relationships between people. According to a 78-page report compiled by project leaders and published on a Chinese government research-funding website, one Z.AI founder and a CGTRI engineer led the work, while three other founders contributed.
The report places the project’s timeline alongside Z.AI’s 2019 founding. MI5’s September espionage alert described CGTRI as having “very strong ties” to China’s Ministry of State Security and warned of potential criminal consequences for institutions or individuals continuing research ultimately funded by the institute. The alert did not mention Z.AI. China’s embassy in the UK called MI5’s allegations baseless. Bloomberg says Z.AI and the founders did not respond to its requests for comment.
The reporting documents participation in a funded research project; it does not establish what the founders knew about CGTRI’s alleged intelligence connections. Bloomberg’s account should not be read as proof of such knowledge or of wrongdoing by the founders.