Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 has unveiled Tulongfeng, an artificial intelligence tool designed to compete with advanced cybersecurity-focused AI models.
The company said the AI tool can go head-to-head with Anthropic’s Mythos, a cybersecurity-focused AI model that has reportedly faced restrictions from the US administration.
Earlier this week, Tokyo-based AI startup Sakana AI launched Fugu, a model named after the Japanese word for blowfish.
Sakana AI said its frontier AI model stands alongside leading models such as Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos Preview. The model is designed for AI agents and can coordinate access to other models through their APIs.
The launch of the two Asian AI models comes as restrictions on US-based AI technology continue.
The US order restricting Anthropic’s access to global markets for Mythos and Fable came into effect two weeks earlier.
A Sakana AI spokesperson said the release of Fugu was “entirely coincidental” and was not linked to the export restrictions.
The company said Fugu had been under development since last year and the research behind it was presented at the International Conference on Learning Representations this spring.
Sakana AI, founded in 2023 by former Google researchers Ren Ito, Llion Jones and David Ha, develops affordable generative AI models focused on small datasets, Japanese language and cultural understanding.
The company is targeting Fugu at Japanese businesses and government agencies seeking alternatives amid tighter export controls.
However, Sakana AI said US AI models remained important for Asia and described the current situation as a period of change rather than a permanent shift towards any single group of developers.
Sakana co-founder Ren Ito said AI access should be preserved for close allies and argued that AI should be developed collectively rather than restricted.
David Ha, co-founder and chief executive of Sakana AI, said Fugu was designed to coordinate the use of multiple AI models.
He said reliance on a single provider for national infrastructure carried risks, adding that access to leading models could disappear suddenly.
Meanwhile, Chinese firm 360 unveiled two AI security tools. Tulongfeng is designed to automatically identify software vulnerabilities, while Yitianzhen is built to automate cyber defence and incident response.
According to Reuters, 360 founder Zhou Hongyi described vulnerability-detection AI as a national strategic asset and warned about the risk of unequal access to advanced cybersecurity capabilities.
Anthropic said its annualised revenue reached $47 billion in May 2026, although the contribution from Asian enterprise customers remains unclear.
Since the export restrictions began, companies in Tokyo and Beijing have moved into areas previously dominated by US AI firms.
Local AI alternatives, trained to understand regional languages and cultures, are increasingly filling the space created by restrictions on US technology.
360 did not respond to a request for comment.
