According to Beating AI News, Zhihu recently established Beijing Zhizhe Exploration Technology Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 1.5 billion yuan. The legal representative is Zhou Yuan, the founder of Zhihu. The new company is wholly owned by Beijing Zhizhe Tianxia Technology Co., Ltd., Zhihu's core operating entity in China, and its business scope covers big data services, internet data services, and the development of artificial intelligence basic software and application software.

It is worth noting that the 1.5 billion yuan refers to the registered capital subscribed by shareholders, and does not equate to Zhihu having actually invested 1.5 billion yuan in cash. Currently, the actual paid-in capital, investment method, and specific business plans of Zhizhe Exploration have not been disclosed.

The establishment of this new company comes at a time when Zhihu is accelerating its AI commercialization efforts. Zhihu has expanded its AI business to areas such as AI search, brand content assets, expert data solutions, and developer tools. However, management previously stated that these AI businesses are still in the commercial validation stage and have not yet generated stable, large-scale revenue.

According to BlockBeats, on September 7th, Michael Gubbins, head of the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), stated that organized crime groups in Ireland have begun renting private vaults to store encrypted wallet private keys and mnemonic phrases, along with assets such as cash, luxury watches, luxury goods, and passports. This practice stems from a CAB investigation and has been reported to the Irish Anti-Money Laundering Commission.

Gubbins stated that criminal groups believe crypto assets offer anonymity, reducing the risk of asset seizure. However, he pointed out that the use of cryptocurrency in Irish criminal activities remains "quite basic," with cash still being the primary form of funding for illicit activities such as drug trafficking.

Ireland is currently preparing to implement new EU anti-money laundering rules, which will prohibit cash transactions exceeding 10,000 euros and strengthen regulations on industries such as crypto asset service providers and luxury retailers.