Bloomberg: Four Z.ai Founders Worked on 2018-2021 Research Co-Funded by China Institute MI5 Links to Spy Agency

Bloomberg reports four co-founders of Chinese AI company Z.ai, including Tsinghua professor Li Juanzi, worked on a January 2018-December 2021 research project co-funded by the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) and the National Natural Science Foundation. MI5's September 30 espionage alert said CGTRI has 'very strong ties' to China's Ministry of State Security and exists chiefly to channel money into university studies strengthening the ministry's 'technical capability for espionage.' The project aimed to build AI tools that scan social media posts to detect major events and map relationships between people; the MI5 alert did not name Z.ai.