Since DeepSeek shocked markets early last year with its cheap but powerful AI model, global consumers have been faced with a choice: Chinese offerings with lower prices and less capability or OpenAI or Anthropic, which have poured ​billions into development. A model called GLM-5.2, launched last month by Beijing-based startup Z.ai, may finally be closing that gap in terms of Western interest. GLM-5.2 has Silicon Valley buzzing with its coding and ‌agent capabilities, or the ability to execute complex tasks with minimal prompting, that almost rival leading US offerings at a fraction of the cost, in what some experts are calling a “mini DeepSeek moment.” It has quickly climbed the usage charts on third-party AI developer platforms like OpenRouter, where it now ranks above Anthropic’s models, while executives from cloud data platform Snowflake’s CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy to venture capitalist Marc Andreessen have lauded its abilities.