Asia Tech Wire (May 31) -- Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has received backing from a fund owned by oil giant Saudi Aramco, according to the Financial Times.

Prosperity7, part of Aramco's venture capital arm, participated in an investment round of about $400 million in Zhipu AI, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The deal valued the Chinese startup at about $3 billion.

Prosperity7, which manages a $3 billion fund, was a minority investor in the round of financing for Zhipu AI, the people said.

Prior to this investment, news broke last week that funding for Zhipu AI's Chinese counterpart Moonshot AI was still ongoing, with new investors including Tencent, Gaorong Capital and other institutions.