4 Z.AI founders worked on research co-funded by an institute MI5 links to China's spy agency

Four founders of Chinese AI company Z.AI worked on a research project co-funded by the China General Technology Research Institute, or CGTRI, which MI5 says has ties to China's Ministry of State Security, according to Bloomberg.

MI5 issued an espionage alert on Sept. 30 stating that CGTRI exists chiefly to channel money into university studies that strengthen the ministry's "technical capability for espionage." MI5 said more than 100 U.K.-linked academics have contributed to projects the ministry funded through CGTRI, and that some may not know CGTRI is backing the work. The alert advised U.K. institutions to review any collaboration with CGTRI and pointed to offences under the National Security Act 2023.

The alert did not mention Z.AI, according to Bloomberg. A spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in Britain dismissed MI5's claims as "baseless," according to Bloomberg.

The project spanned January 2018 to December 2021 and was approved for 2.94 million yuan in funding, according to Bloomberg, which cited a 78-page write-up by the project's leaders on a Chinese government site that archives research funding records. CGTRI and the National Natural Science Foundation of China co-funded it. According to Bloomberg, the project aimed to develop artificial intelligence software that could parse social media posts, identify important events and chart relationships among individuals.

Z.AI co-founder Li Juanzi, a Tsinghua University professor, led the project with CGTRI's Cao Weibing and a Southeast University professor, according to Bloomberg. Co-founders Tang Jie, Xu Bin and Zhang Peng, the company's CEO, appear in the write-up as co-authors, co-inventors or software copyright holders, according to Bloomberg. Chairman Liu Debing, the fifth founder Z.AI lists as a key person, was not named in the project documents.

James Mulvenon, who directs the intelligence analysis and research effort at Pamir Consulting, examined the write-up after Bloomberg asked him to. He said the ministry "had an obvious interest in funding this research and reaping the targeting benefits," according to Bloomberg.

It is unknown whether the founders were aware of any alleged connection between CGTRI and Chinese intelligence, according to Bloomberg. Z.AI and the four founders did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment. A CGTRI representative told Bloomberg by phone that the institute does not communicate externally.

Z.AI, also known as Zhipu, listed in Hong Kong in January 2026. Its market value stands at roughly $32 billion.