A Beijing-based AI company has flipped the switch on a data center that runs entirely on domestically produced semiconductors. Z.AI’s 1-gigawatt facility is now operational, purpose-built to train the company’s GLM (General Language Model) AI platforms without a single Nvidia chip in sight.
Since 2025, US export controls have forced Chinese companies to get creative about sourcing AI compute. Washington’s restrictions specifically targeted high-end Nvidia GPUs like the H100 and its successors, chips that had become the backbone of AI training worldwide.
In April 2026, Alibaba launched its own data center equipped with 10,000 Zhenwu AI chips, its proprietary silicon designed specifically for AI workloads. Z.AI’s facility dwarfs it in scale and ambition.
Beijing is putting serious money behind this
The Chinese government has proposed a five-year plan with an estimated budget of approximately $295 billion to create a network of interconnected AI data centers. The target: 80% domestic technology sourcing across the entire network.
