Chinese AI powerhouse Zhipu AI has launched its latest flagship model, GLM-5, marking a significant advancement in artificial intelligence capabilities. This new model boasts enhanced coding and agentic engineering features, positioning it as a strong competitor against leading Western AI models and intensifying the global race for AI supremacy.
Zhipu AI’s GLM-5 represents a substantial upgrade from its predecessor, GLM-4.5. With 744 billion parameters, it is one of the largest models available. Its architecture incorporates DeepSeek Sparse Attention, a technique designed to optimize computational efficiency and cost without sacrificing performance, especially for long contexts. The model’s training data has also seen a significant increase, reaching 28.5 trillion tokens.
Internal tests and benchmarks suggest GLM-5 is highly competitive, even surpassing Google DeepMind’s Gemini 3 Pro in certain areas like coding and agentic performance. While it may still trail behind proprietary models like Anthropic’s Claude in some specific benchmarks, its performance places it in direct contention with top-tier AI systems. The model’s ability to perform complex reasoning, plan long-term, and execute tasks autonomously aligns with the development direction of leading AI labs worldwide.
Notably, Zhipu AI has released GLM-5 under the MIT license, a move that democratizes access to advanced AI technology. This open-source approach, combined with its ability to run on domestically produced Chinese chips like those from Huawei Ascend, underscores China’s drive for AI self-reliance. This is particularly significant given ongoing geopolitical tensions and restrictions on advanced hardware.
GLM-5 is designed to move beyond simple conversational AI towards “agentic engineering,” enabling AI to autonomously break down complex objectives and execute them. It features a native “Agent Mode” capable of transforming prompts into professional documents like .docx, .pdf, and .xlsx files. This capability is crucial for businesses looking to integrate AI into their workflows for tasks ranging from generating sponsorship proposals to financial reports.
The launch of GLM-5 has already had a positive market impact, with Zhipu’s shares seeing a significant increase. The model’s competitive pricing and open-source nature make it an attractive option for enterprises seeking advanced AI capabilities without vendor lock-in. As Chinese AI firms continue to innovate rapidly, GLM-5’s release signals a dynamic and intensifying global AI race.