Speaking at BEYOND Expo 2025, Zhang outlined the company’s history, current strategies, and perspectives on the evolving AI landscape both domestically and globally. Zhang, who has a background in algorithm engineering and AI product development and previously worked at Tencent and Sogou, emphasized Zhipu’s early commitment to advancing AI capabilities and commercial applications. Zhipu AI is widely recognized as one of China’s leading AI model developers – often referred to as one of the country’s top six AI unicorns. Discussing the known directions in AI development, Zhang pointed to a clear framework introduced by OpenAI in 2023, which outlines five levels of AGI capabilities. Zhipu AI aligns with this roadmap, which plots a route from basic dialogue generation to collective intelligence.