Zhipu acquired AI Infra firm XCore Sigma for hundreds of millions of RMB to bolster its foundation model engineering, domestic chip compatibility, and inference optimization. XCore Sigma specializes in compiler-based heterogeneous computing, supporting chips like Loongson and Huawei Ascend. The deal follows soaring call volumes of GLM-5, which exposed engineering bottlenecks in inference architecture and KV Cache management. The acquisition aims to improve multi-chip adaptation, reduce inference latency, and lower service costs, as compiler technology becomes critical for AI competitiveness.