Asian AI startups are stepping into the gap left by a US export ban. The ban blocks Anthropic from giving non-Americans access to its Mythos and Fable 5 models. Two new Asian models now promise similar power without that risk.
On Wednesday, Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 reportedly unveiled a tool called Tulongfeng. The firm says it can go head-to-head with Anthropic’s cybersecurity-focused Mythos. The Trump administration currently bars Mythos and Fable 5 from non-American users.
“This kind of powerful weapon that can change the landscape of cyber offence and defence cannot be held only by others,” Zhou Hongyi, the founder of China 360, said in a speech.
Earlier the same week, Tokyo-based Sakana AI launched a model named Fugu. The company says Fugu stands shoulder to shoulder with Fable 5 and Mythos Preview. It is built for agents and can orchestrate access to other models through their APIs.
Both launches land as the US ban enters its third week. Sakana called the timing of its release entirely coincidental. Yet its website advertises frontier capability without the risk of export controls. The company said the research behind Fugu predates the ban.
As according to its CEO:
Human intelligence is fundamentally a collective intelligence. We solve complex problems by participating in a vast cultural network that builds upon ideas across generations.
I believe the strongest AI systems will become a collective intelligence, too.
Since we started Sakana… https://t.co/yulKqdei2c
— hardmaru (@hardmaru) June 22, 2026
The stakes are large for Anthropic. The lab said its run-rate revenue crossed $47 billion in May 2026. How much depends on Asian enterprise customers is not publicly known. Local rivals trained for regional language and nuance are already filling the space. So, winning back trust could prove hard even if the ban ends.
