Asian AI startups launch rival models as US export ban on Anthropic’s Mythos drags on

BitcoinWorld Asian AI startups launch rival models as US export ban on Anthropic’s Mythos drags on Two Asian AI startups have launched new models this week that directly compete with Anthropic’s recently restricted Mythos and Fable systems, as a U.S. government export ban on those technologies enters its third week. The moves signal a growing regional push to fill gaps left by American export controls. New models emerge from Tokyo and Beijing On Wednesday, Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 unveiled Tulongfeng, an AI tool designed to automatically discover software vulnerabilities, alongside Yitianzhen, a system for automated cyber defense and incident response. The company claims Tulongfeng can go head-to-head with Anthropic’s Mythos, the cybersecurity-focused AI model that the Trump Administration banned from export to non-Americans two weeks ago. Earlier in the week, Tokyo-based Sakana AI launched Fugu, named after the Japanese word for blowfish. The company says this frontier AI model “stands shoulder-to-shoulder with leading models like Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos Preview.” Fugu is designed for agent-based tasks and can orchestrate access to other models through their APIs. Timing and market context The launches come as the U.S. government’s export ban on Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable models continues. The order, issued two weeks ago, prevents Anthropic from providing global access to these systems. A Sakana AI spokesperson told Bitcoin World that the timing of Fugu’s release was “entirely coincidental,” but acknowledged the company is capitalizing on the moment. Its website advertises “delivering frontier capability without the risk of export controls.” “Sakana Fugu is something we have been building since last year — the research behind it was presented at ICLR this spring, and it reflects an approach that is central to how we deliver frontier-level value at Sakana AI,” the spokesperson said. “We were confident in the product on its own merits; the timing simply happened to coincide with a moment that brought it more attention than we expected.” Sakana AI’s strategy: hedge, not replace Sakana, co-founded in 2023 by former Google researchers Ren Ito, Llion Jones, and David Ha, focuses on affordable generative AI models optimized for Japanese language and culture. While targeting Fugu at Japanese businesses and government agencies looking to reduce exposure to tightening export controls, the company does not see this as a permanent shift away from U.S. AI. “U.S. models remain important to Asia,” the spokesperson said, echoing remarks co-founder Ren Ito made at the G7 summit in Evian last week. “We’d characterize the current moment in those terms rather than as a permanent realignment toward any one set of players.” In an op-ed published in Project Syndicate last week, Ito urged the U.S.