{"id":3490350,"date":"2026-06-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/asian-ai-startups-introduce-mythos-like-models-as-anthropics-export-restrictions-continue\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:00:00","slug":"asian-ai-startups-introduce-mythos-like-models-as-anthropics-export-restrictions-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/asian-ai-startups-introduce-mythos-like-models-as-anthropics-export-restrictions-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian AI startups introduce Mythos-like models as Anthropic’s export restrictions continue."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n

On Wednesday, Chinese cybersecurity company 360 reportedly introduced Tulongfeng, an AI tool it claims can compete with Anthropic\u2019s Mythos. This is the cybersecurity-centric AI model that is alleged to be so potent, the Trump Administration has currently prohibited it and its more restricted variant, Fable 5, from being accessed by non-Americans.<\/p>\n

Earlier that same week, Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based AI startup, launched Fugu, a model named after the Japanese term for blowfish. The firm asserts this cutting-edge AI model \u201cstands shoulder-to-shoulder with premier models like Anthropic\u2019s Fable 5 and Mythos Preview.\u201d It is also tailored for agents, possessing the capability to orchestrate access to other models through their APIs.<\/p>\n

These two new Asian model releases arrive as the ban from the U.S. government continues. The directive preventing Anthropic from having global access to Mythos and Fable was issued two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

A representative from Sakana AI informed TechCrunch that the release of its new model was \u201centirely coincidental,\u201d yet that has not deterred it from leveraging the situation. Its website promotes \u201cdelivering frontier capability without the risk of export controls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSakana Fugu is something we have been developing since last year \u2014 the research behind it was showcased at ICLR this spring, and it embodies an approach that is fundamental to how we provide frontier-level value at Sakana AI. We were confident in the product\u2019s merits; the timing simply coincided with a moment that garnered it more attention than we anticipated,\u201d the spokesperson said regarding the launch amidst the Mythos\/Fable export restriction.<\/p>\n

Sakana, co-founded in 2023 by former Google researchers Ren Ito, Llion Jones, and David Ha, produces affordable generative AI models that perform well with small datasets and are tailored for the Japanese language and culture.<\/p>\n

While the company is directing Fugu at Japanese enterprises and government bodies aiming to minimize their exposure to tightening export regulations, it is not yet declaring a permanent shift away from U.S. AI in Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. models still hold significant importance in Asia,\u201d the spokesperson noted, echoing comments made by co-founder Ren Ito at the G7 summit in Evian last week, where AI access and export controls were key topics. \u201cWe\u2019d frame the current situation in those terms rather than interpreting it as a permanent reorientation towards any specific group of players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakana co-founder Ren Ito elaborated on that perspective in an op-ed released in Project Syndicate last week. He urged the U.S. federal government to consider that its \u201cprimary focus should be to maintain access\u201d for America\u2019s closest allies, emphasizing that \u201cAI should not become a technology that is hoarded; it should be one that is collaboratively developed.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Ha, co-founder and CEO of Sakana, described Fugu as more than merely a strategic maneuver during a precarious time for U.S. competitors. It is crafted to facilitate coordination among various models.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrchestration Models represent the next frontier, beyond larger models,\u201d he stated on X. Depending on a single provider for national infrastructure, he contended, is a risk that the recent export controls have made impossible to overlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to top models can vanish overnight,\u201d he commented. \u201cCollective intelligence serves as a practical safeguard against this concentration of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Tokyo-based Sakana positioned Fugu as a hedge strategy, a method to secure access to frontier AI rather than replace it, China\u2019s 360 was not hedging.<\/p>\n

The Chinese firm reportedly introduced two AI security solutions. Tulongfeng aims to automatically detect software vulnerabilities, while Yitianzhen is designed to automate cyber defense and incident response.<\/p>\n

The product unveiling, however, was accompanied by a statement. According to Reuters, 360\u2019s founder Zhou Hongyi labeled vulnerability-detection AI as a national strategic asset and raised concerns about what he termed the risk of \u201cone-way transparency,\u201d a scenario where certain entities could access advanced vulnerability-detection capabilities while others could not.<\/p>\n

Anthropic had been on a remarkable growth path. The U.S. AI lab announced its run-rate revenue surpassed $47 billion in May 2026. The extent to which Asian enterprise customers contribute to that figure is not publicly available.<\/p>\n

However, in the weeks following the implementation of the export order, at least two firms, one in Tokyo and one in Beijing, have stepped into the void it created. Even if U.S. companies were to regain trust should this ban ever be lifted, local alternatives, better trained to grasp local language and subtleties, are already addressing the gap.<\/p>\n

360 did not reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

On Wednesday, Chinese cybersecurity company 360 reportedly introduced Tulongfeng, an AI tool it claims can compete with Anthropic\u2019s Mythos. This is the cybersecurity-centric AI model that is alleged to be so potent, the Trump Administration has currently prohibited it and its more restricted variant, Fable 5, from being accessed by non-Americans.<\/p>\n

Earlier that same week, Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based AI startup, launched Fugu, a model named after the Japanese term for blowfish. The firm asserts this cutting-edge AI model \u201cstands shoulder-to-shoulder with premier models like Anthropic\u2019s Fable 5 and Mythos Preview.\u201d It is also tailored for agents, possessing the capability to orchestrate access to other models through their APIs.<\/p>\n

These two new Asian model releases arrive as the ban from the U.S. government continues. The directive preventing Anthropic from having global access to Mythos and Fable was issued two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

A representative from Sakana AI informed TechCrunch that the release of its new model was \u201centirely coincidental,\u201d yet that has not deterred it from leveraging the situation. Its website promotes \u201cdelivering frontier capability without the risk of export controls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSakana Fugu is something we have been developing since last year \u2014 the research behind it was showcased at ICLR this spring, and it embodies an approach that is fundamental to how we provide frontier-level value at Sakana AI. We were confident in the product\u2019s merits; the timing simply coincided with a moment that garnered it more attention than we anticipated,\u201d the spokesperson said regarding the launch amidst the Mythos\/Fable export restriction.<\/p>\n

Sakana, co-founded in 2023 by former Google researchers Ren Ito, Llion Jones, and David Ha, produces affordable generative AI models that perform well with small datasets and are tailored for the Japanese language and culture.<\/p>\n

While the company is directing Fugu at Japanese enterprises and government bodies aiming to minimize their exposure to tightening export regulations, it is not yet declaring a permanent shift away from U.S. AI in Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. models still hold significant importance in Asia,\u201d the spokesperson noted, echoing comments made by co-founder Ren Ito at the G7 summit in Evian last week, where AI access and export controls were key topics. \u201cWe\u2019d frame the current situation in those terms rather than interpreting it as a permanent reorientation towards any specific group of players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakana co-founder Ren Ito elaborated on that perspective in an op-ed released in Project Syndicate last week. He urged the U.S. federal government to consider that its \u201cprimary focus should be to maintain access\u201d for America\u2019s closest allies, emphasizing that \u201cAI should not become a technology that is hoarded; it should be one that is collaboratively developed.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Ha, co-founder and CEO of Sakana, described Fugu as more than merely a strategic maneuver during a precarious time for U.S. competitors. It is crafted to facilitate coordination among various models.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrchestration Models represent the next frontier, beyond larger models,\u201d he stated on X. Depending on a single provider for national infrastructure, he contended, is a risk that the recent export controls have made impossible to overlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to top models can vanish overnight,\u201d he commented. \u201cCollective intelligence serves as a practical safeguard against this concentration of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Tokyo-based Sakana positioned Fugu as a hedge strategy, a method to secure access to frontier AI rather than replace it, China\u2019s 360 was not hedging.<\/p>\n

The Chinese firm reportedly introduced two AI security solutions. Tulongfeng aims to automatically detect software vulnerabilities, while Yitianzhen is designed to automate cyber defense and incident response.<\/p>\n

The product unveiling, however, was accompanied by a statement. According to Reuters, 360\u2019s founder Zhou Hongyi labeled vulnerability-detection AI as a national strategic asset and raised concerns about what he termed the risk of \u201cone-way transparency,\u201d a scenario where certain entities could access advanced vulnerability-detection capabilities while others could not.<\/p>\n

Anthropic had been on a remarkable growth path. The U.S. AI lab announced its run-rate revenue surpassed $47 billion in May 2026. The extent to which Asian enterprise customers contribute to that figure is not publicly available.<\/p>\n

However, in the weeks following the implementation of the export order, at least two firms, one in Tokyo and one in Beijing, have stepped into the void it created. Even if U.S. companies were to regain trust should this ban ever be lifted, local alternatives, better trained to grasp local language and subtleties, are already addressing the gap.<\/p>\n

360 did not reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3490351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3490350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490350"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3490350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3490351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3490350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3490350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3490350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}