STEPFUN

About Stepfun

Chinese AI company focused on mathematical reasoning and problem-solving. Building models specialized in STEM education and research applications.

Recent News about Stepfun

• CISA and NSA name six Chinese AI labs in model distillation probe

  On September 8, 2026, the US NSA, CISA and FBI issued advisory AA26-251A accusing six China-based AI firms, including DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and Alibaba, of running industrial-scale knowledge distillation campaigns against US frontier models. Follow-up coverage on September 10 and 11, 2026, detailed that the firms allegedly extracted billions of tokens from models such as Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok, and that US agencies are urging providers to quietly downgrade suspected accounts instead of banning them.

  Source: CISA / NSA / FBI2026-09-10T21:06:08.207Z

• US AI distillation row sparks Chinese backlash and downgrade fears

  On September 10, 2026, Chinese‑language tech site ic.work analyzed a new US joint cybersecurity advisory that accuses six Chinese AI firms of conducting “industrial‑scale” distillation of US frontier models and reportedly urges American providers to silently route Chinese users to weaker models. The piece summarizes China’s Commerce Ministry response that distillation is a common industry practice and warns of likely retaliation if US actions target Chinese AI companies. ([ic.work](https://www.ic.work/article/us-accuses-six-chinese-ai-firms-of-aggressive-model-distilla))

  Source: ic.work2026-09-10T13:06:29.702Z

• WAIC 2026 showcases China pivot from model race to AI deployment

  Momenta Media reports that WAIC 2026 in Shanghai, running July 17–20, has shifted focus from ever-larger models to commercial deployment of AI agents, humanoid robots and domestic compute systems. Exhibits from Alibaba Cloud, Tencent, Baidu, Huawei and others emphasized real-world workflows, supernode clusters and AI-native devices like agentic smartphones and glasses. ([momenta.media](https://www.momenta.media/article/waic-2026-signals-china-s-ai-industry-is-shifting-from-model-race-to-commercial-deployment))

  Source: Momenta Media2026-07-19T21:05:38.854Z

• StepFun unveils StepX Neo agentic AI smartphone and Step AOS

  Tencent‑backed Chinese startup StepFun this week unveiled the StepX Neo, an "agentic" smartphone running its own Step AOS operating system and Amoo AI agent. At a July 13, 2026 launch event in Shanghai, the company said the device can orchestrate multi‑step tasks across partner apps via natural‑language commands instead of traditional app‑by‑app interactions.

  Source: South China Morning Post2026-07-14T12:30:00.000Z

• Global startup funding hits $510B as 70% of Q2 capital flows to AI

  Crunchbase reports that global startup investment reached a record $510 billion in the first half of 2026, with more than 70% of Q2 funding going to AI-focused companies. Sixteen startups raised billion‑dollar rounds in Q2, including several frontier labs in the US, China and the UK.

  Source: Crunchbase News2026-07-02T13:08:37.020Z

• Huawei Cloud and top Chinese LLMs launch 'Hundred Models' AI ecosystem

  At the Huawei Cloud INSPIRE 2026 conference in Shanghai on June 5, 2026, Huawei Cloud announced the "Hundred Models, Thousand Forms, Cloud Aggregation for Win‑Win" ecosystem cooperation plan with more than 20 leading model vendors. Partners include Zhipu AI, DeepSeek, Minimax, Kimi, StepFun, Baidu, iFlytek Spark, Meituan and others, aiming to build a systematic commercial ecosystem around Chinese large models.

  Source: Eastmoney / 科创板日报2026-06-05T04:09:00.000Z

• Xiaomi MiMo V2.5 API cuts spark 99% China AI price war

  Chinese media report that Xiaomi’s MiMo‑V2.5 large‑model API has permanently cut prices by up to 99%, with cache‑hit input as low as ¥0.025 (about $0.0036) per million tokens, effective May 27, 2026. A May 28 feature explains how Xiaomi and rival DeepSeek are using aggressive pricing and cache optimizations to attract developers and build a data and distribution moat despite rising compute and memory chip costs.([m.voc.com.cn](https://m.voc.com.cn/xhn/news/202605/32770665.html))

  Source: 新湖南 / 解放日报2026-05-28T06:48:00.000Z