360, Sakana Launch 2 AI Models as US Ban Blocks Anthropic Exports
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 27
360, Sakana Launch 2 AI Models as US Ban Blocks Anthropic Exports
2 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 27
Summary
Two Asian AI firms moved into the gap left by U.S. export controls: China’s 360 unveiled Tulongfeng and Yitianzhen, while Tokyo-based Sakana AI launched Fugu earlier this week.
The releases follow a U.S. order imposed two weeks ago that bars non-Americans from accessing Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable 5, models both companies explicitly benchmarked against or positioned around.
Sakana said Fugu’s timing was coincidental, but marketed it as frontier capability “without the risk of export controls” and pitched it to Japanese businesses and government agencies seeking a hedge against disrupted access.
360 took a harder line, with founder Zhou Hongyi calling vulnerability-finding AI a national strategic asset and warning of “one-way transparency” if only some actors can use advanced cyber models.
The launches suggest export restrictions are already accelerating local alternatives in Asia, even as Sakana says U.S. models remain important and stops short of predicting a permanent regional shift.
Can Asian AI challengers truly break Silicon Valley's dominance or just fill a temporary market gap?
Is the US AI export ban fracturing the global ecosystem and launching a new technological cold war?
By restricting defensive AI tools, has the US made its own digital infrastructure more vulnerable to attack?
$47 Billion AI Ban: How the 2026 US Export Controls on Anthropic Sparked a Global Race for Tech Independence
Overview
In June 2026, the U.S. Commerce Department banned Anthropic from distributing its advanced AI models to foreign nationals, citing national security concerns. This sweeping order disrupted users worldwide and even affected Anthropic’s own non-citizen employees, highlighting the growing influence of government oversight on AI deployment. The ban triggered a global push for technological independence, with countries like Japan and China accelerating their own AI development and Europe calling for digital sovereignty. Japan’s Sakana AI responded by launching innovative multi-model AI services and investing in self-improving AI research, signaling a shift toward new AI architectures and a more fragmented, competitive global AI landscape.