Following the launch of advanced AI cybersecurity models such as Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, China is rapidly expanding its AI cybersecurity market to catch up, aiming to reach nearly $9 billion in value by 2030 despite current technological limitations.
- China’s AI cybersecurity market forecast to grow more than 37-fold by 2030
- Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 lead with rapid vulnerability detection
- Chinese firms face hurdles from restricted access to US AI technologies
What happened
In April, Anthropic introduced Mythos, an AI model capable of detecting and exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities with unprecedented speed and accuracy. Shortly after, OpenAI unveiled its GPT-5.5 model featuring enhanced cybersecurity functions, although access to these advanced models has been limited to select US vendors.
In response, China is aggressively expanding its AI cybersecurity industry, with projections estimating the market could reach 59.35 billion yuan (approximately $8.7 billion) by 2030. Chinese cybersecurity companies are incorporating AI across various applications, including threat detection and data security, signaling strong momentum despite current capability gaps compared to US models.
Why it matters
The dual-use nature of foundational AI models means they can be employed both to strengthen defenses and to discover zero-day vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit. This amplifies the strategic importance of AI in national cybersecurity landscapes and places pressure on vendors to rapidly innovate or risk obsolescence.
China’s restricted access to leading US AI cybersecurity technologies, driven by geopolitical and export controls, exacerbates the challenge. Without collaborative breakthroughs or easing of restrictions, the gap in high-stakes areas like zero-day vulnerability detection may widen, risking China’s ability to effectively defend critical infrastructure in the near term.
What to watch next
IDC analysts anticipate China's AI cybersecurity market to sustain a compound annual growth rate of about 50.5 percent over the next five years, fueled by growing domestic adoption and investment. Industry cooperation between Chinese AI developers, cybersecurity firms, and regulators will be crucial to bridging current capability shortfalls.
Monitoring how Chinese vendors innovate around restricted access to US technology, alongside developments in AI security products designed to protect AI systems themselves, will be key indicators of China’s progress in establishing a competitive, resilient AI-powered cybersecurity ecosystem.