360 Security Technology, a Chinese cybersecurity firm, has unveiled what it describes as a homegrown rival to Anthropic's Mythos AI system, framing the American model as a strategic threat that Beijing cannot allow to go unanswered.
At a Beijing event called ISC.AI 2026, Zhou Hongyi — who founded 360 — introduced a pair of AI security tools grouped under the name "Yitian Tulong," a reference to a well-known Chinese martial arts story. The first tool, "Tulongfeng," targets automated vulnerability discovery in software, while the second, "Yitianzhen," focuses on streamlining cyber defense and response to security incidents, Reuters reported.
"This kind of powerful weapon that can change the landscape of cyber offence and defence cannot be held only by others," Zhou Hongyi said in a speech, according to a transcript published by 360.
360 said Tulongfeng had found 3,432 software vulnerabilities, including 105 confirmed by Chinese authorities. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims.
While conceding that Chinese models lag behind U.S. systems — "Objectively speaking, domestic models still have a 20%-30% gap in base capability," Zhou Hongyi said — he argued that waiting for parity was not an option. His answer is to layer AI models on top of proprietary security knowledge, vulnerability data, and automation pipelines, a combination he credits with bringing Tulongfeng up to a standard he considers equivalent to Mythos. "If the U.S. route is to cultivate a genius hacker, 360's route is to organise a professional attack-and-defence team," he said.
The announcement comes as Anthropic's Mythos model has drawn significant attention in Washington and Beijing. Anthropic introduced Mythos in April as a tool capable of identifying flaws in widely used software; the company reported that an early version had uncovered thousands of serious vulnerabilities spanning operating systems, browsers, and other applications. Security researchers have cautioned, however, that the same capabilities could be turned toward offensive use.
The U.S. government's response to Mythos has been turbulent. The Trump administration ordered Anthropic to take its two most powerful models offline for all users after citing a potential jailbreak vulnerability, forcing the company to pull access for customers and employees alike. Separately, the administration has since sought to resolve the dispute with Anthropic, with senior technical staff from the company holding meetings with government officials.
The concept of "one-way transparency" was central to Zhou Hongyi's argument: tools like Mythos, he warned, could allow American actors to probe Chinese systems at will, while China remained unable to respond in kind. He cast AI-driven vulnerability discovery as an asset with implications for both shielding critical infrastructure and pursuing offensive operations.
A seat on China's top political advisory body gives Zhou Hongyi additional standing in these debates; he built 360 into a widely recognized cybersecurity brand, starting with consumer antivirus products and later moving into work for enterprises and government clients.