Chinese AI startup Zhipu has secured $412 million in funding, continuing its expansion in the competitive AI sector. With backing from tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, Zhipu aims to capitalize on localized strategies and government support to differentiate itself in the market. The company has already seen substantial growth, doubling its commercial revenue this year.

Chinese AI startup Zhipu has raised $412 million in its latest funding round, boosting its valuation to $3 billion. With backing from major tech players like Alibaba, Tencent, and Saudi Aramco, Zhipu aims to leverage a localized strategy to compete in the AI arms race. The company has also seen a significant increase in commercial revenue this year.

Liu Wei, a key figure in Tencent's Hunyuan Large Model Technology, has departed from the company. His exit raises questions about the future of the Hyper-Model initiative, which integrates advanced AI capabilities into over 700 applications. Liu's contributions to AI research and development have been significant, with a notable academic background and a focus on transforming chaos into order through AI technology.

**Summary** 1. Tencent has open-sourced its **Hunyuan3D-1.0** model, designed for rapid text-to-3D and image-to-3D generation. 2. The lightweight version of the model can produce high-quality 3D assets in just **10 seconds**. 3. Hunyuan3D surpasses other models in both **speed** and **generalization**, making it a top choice for 3D creators. 4. Tencent plans to continue releasing more open-source models, further advancing the 3D tech ecosystem. 5. Free access is available on platforms like **Github**, **Hugging Face**, and **Gitee**.