Chinese AI labs to challenge Thinking Machines Lab with new industry focus

Jul 14, 2026

Two former Chinese AI lab leaders said they aim to challenge Thinking Machines Lab, a US start-up founded by ex-OpenAI executive Mira Murati, and focus on building industry-specific artificial intelligence solutions and models following their exit from the fierce frontier AI race. “All models are relentlessly chasing the ceiling of general intelligence … but in many real-world scenarios, we don’t necessarily need an absolute all-rounder,” Zhang Fan, founder and CEO of Yoolee AI and previously a...

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