The global artificial intelligence landscape underwent a significant shift this week as leading technology firms in China and Japan unveiled advanced AI models designed to rival top-tier American technology currently restricted by federal export controls. On Wednesday, the Chinese cybersecurity titan 360 announced the development of Tulongfeng, a sophisticated AI tool specifically engineered to match the capabilities of Anthropic’s Mythos model. This move follows the recent launch of Fugu by Tokyo-based Sakana AI, a frontier model that the company claims stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with the most powerful restricted versions of Anthropic’s suite. These developments signal a rapid acceleration in the pursuit of AI sovereignty across Asia, as regional players move to fill a vacuum created by tightening U.S. trade policies.
The Catalyst: U.S. Export Controls and the Anthropic Ban
The sudden surge in Asian AI product launches is directly linked to an executive order from the Trump administration issued earlier this month. The order effectively prohibited Anthropic from providing global access to its two most powerful cybersecurity-focused models: Mythos and Fable 5. Mythos, described by industry experts as a "frontier" model with unprecedented capabilities in identifying software vulnerabilities and orchestrating complex cyber maneuvers, was deemed a national security risk if accessed by non-American entities.
Fable 5, a slightly more restricted but still highly capable version of the model, was also included in the ban. These restrictions were implemented despite Anthropic’s historic growth trajectory; in May 2026, the San Francisco-based AI lab reported that its run-rate revenue had surpassed $47 billion, with a valuation nearing $1 trillion ahead of its anticipated initial public offering. The ban has significantly disrupted Anthropic’s expansion into Asian enterprise markets, creating an immediate demand for high-performance alternatives that are not subject to the volatility of U.S. foreign policy.
China’s Strategic Countermove: 360’s Tulongfeng and Yitianzhen
In Beijing, the cybersecurity firm 360 has positioned its new tools not merely as commercial products, but as national strategic assets. The company’s founder, Zhou Hongyi, introduced Tulongfeng as a direct competitor to Anthropic’s Mythos, specifically focused on the automated discovery of software vulnerabilities. Alongside Tulongfeng, 360 unveiled Yitianzhen, a model designed to automate cyber defense and incident response.
Zhou Hongyi emphasized the concept of "one-way transparency" as a primary driver for these developments. He argued that if only certain global actors have access to advanced AI for vulnerability detection, it creates a dangerous imbalance in international cybersecurity. By developing Tulongfeng, 360 aims to ensure that China possesses the same high-level offensive and defensive capabilities as those guarded by the U.S. government. The firm’s rhetoric suggests that AI-driven cybersecurity is now a central pillar of national defense, mirroring the U.S. stance that such technology is too powerful to be shared freely.
Japan’s Resilience Strategy: Sakana AI and the Fugu Model
While 360’s approach is rooted in strategic competition, Tokyo-based Sakana AI has framed its new model, Fugu, as a practical hedge against geopolitical instability. Named after the Japanese blowfish—a delicacy that is dangerous if not handled with extreme precision—Fugu is designed to deliver frontier-level capabilities without the risk of being cut off by foreign export controls.
Sakana AI, founded in 2023 by former Google researchers David Ha and Llion Jones, along with former Mercari executive Ren Ito, has quickly become a leader in the Japanese AI sector. The company recently raised $135 million in a Series B funding round, reaching a valuation of $2.65 billion. Fugu represents a shift in philosophy from the "bigger is better" approach of American labs. Instead of focusing solely on raw parameter count, Fugu is an "orchestration model" designed to manage and coordinate access to various other models through their APIs.
David Ha, CEO of Sakana AI, noted on social media that reliance on a single provider for national infrastructure is a risk that the recent U.S. export controls have made impossible for Japanese businesses to ignore. "Access to top models can disappear overnight," Ha stated. "Collective intelligence is the practical hedge against this concentration of power."
Chronology of the AI Export Crisis
To understand the speed of the current market realignment, it is necessary to look at the timeline of events leading up to this week’s launches:
- May 2026: Anthropic announces record-breaking revenue figures, solidifying its position as the dominant force in enterprise AI.
- June 10, 2026: The Trump administration issues an emergency export ban on Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable 5 models, citing concerns over "dual-use" technology that could be used for state-sponsored cyber warfare.
- June 17, 2026: At the G7 summit in Evian, France, AI access and export controls become a primary topic of discussion. Sakana AI co-founder Ren Ito participates in high-level talks, advocating for "AI sovereignty" and the preservation of access for U.S. allies.
- June 22, 2026: Sakana AI launches Fugu, explicitly marketing it as a way for Japanese firms to bypass the risks of U.S. export restrictions.
- June 24, 2026: 360 unveils Tulongfeng and Yitianzhen in Beijing, framing them as essential tools for maintaining China’s strategic parity in the AI age.
Geopolitical Implications: The Rise of AI Sovereignty
The emergence of Tulongfeng and Fugu highlights a growing trend toward "AI Sovereignty"—the idea that nations must control their own AI infrastructure to ensure economic and national security. For years, the global tech industry operated on the assumption that U.S.-developed models would serve as the foundational layer for the world’s AI applications. However, the weaponization of export controls has shattered that trust.
Ren Ito, in an op-ed published shortly after the G7 summit, argued that the U.S. government’s first priority should be to preserve access for its closest allies. He warned that hoarding technology would lead to a fragmented global ecosystem where every region develops its own incompatible "walled gardens." The current situation suggests that this fragmentation is already well underway. Japanese businesses and government agencies, traditionally reliant on American software, are now looking toward local alternatives like Fugu to ensure their digital infrastructure cannot be disabled by a change in Washington’s political climate.
Technical Analysis: Orchestration vs. Raw Power
The technical distinction between these new Asian models and their American counterparts is significant. While Anthropic’s Mythos is built as a monolithic, highly powerful model, Sakana’s Fugu is designed for the "agentic" era of AI. It excels at acting as a central hub that can call upon different specialized models to complete complex tasks. This approach is particularly effective for small-to-medium datasets and is optimized for the specific linguistic and cultural nuances of the Japanese market.
In contrast, 360’s Tulongfeng appears to be more focused on the brute-force identification of code vulnerabilities. By automating the "red teaming" process—where AI attempts to hack into systems to find weaknesses—360 is providing a tool that was previously the sole domain of elite human cybersecurity researchers or highly restricted Western AI.
Economic Impact and the Future of Global AI Markets
The long-term economic consequences of the Anthropic ban remain to be seen, but the immediate impact is a loss of market share for U.S. firms. While Anthropic’s $47 billion run-rate suggests a strong domestic and European base, the exclusion of Asian enterprise customers provides a massive opening for local competitors.
Industry analysts suggest that even if the U.S. were to lift the ban tomorrow, the damage to the reputation of American AI providers may be permanent. "Trust is the hardest currency to regain," said one Tokyo-based venture capitalist. "When a company realizes their entire workflow can be halted by a foreign government’s signature, they don’t go back to that provider. They build their own."
As 360 and Sakana AI continue to refine their products, the "gap" between Western and Eastern AI capabilities is narrowing. If Tulongfeng and Fugu prove to be as effective as their creators claim, the U.S. may find that its attempt to contain advanced AI has instead served as the catalyst for a more competitive and decentralized global market. The era of U.S. AI hegemony is facing its most significant challenge yet, driven not just by technological innovation, but by the fundamental need for national and corporate self-preservation in an increasingly polarized world.
