Zhipu, the Chinese AI company also known as Z.ai, has confirmed it created Ox Alpha, the model that reached the top of OpenRouter's leaderboard, and said it will release the model's weights, Bloomberg reported1,2.
Ox Alpha is a new iteration of Zhipu's GLM series. The model drew attention after it swept to the top of OpenRouter's online usage charts while offered at zero cost. Bloomberg's report, citing Luz Ding, characterized Ox Alpha as rivaling DeepSeek.
Zhipu said it would release the weights for Ox Alpha tonight, according to the Bloomberg report.
ANALYSIS The stealth launch — appearing on a public leaderboard before Zhipu confirmed authorship — is an unusual go-to-market approach that generated organic attention before any formal announcement. Offering the model at zero cost while topping usage charts suggests Zhipu is prioritizing distribution and developer adoption over near-term revenue from the model. Confirmation that Ox Alpha belongs to the GLM lineage ties it to Zhipu's established model family, indicating continued investment in scaling that architecture.