How did AI beat eight world champions at bridge?

On March 16, French AI startup NukkAI claimed on Twitter that in the following week, they would host a competition where the research firm would beat eight Bridge world champions. Bridge, unlike Chess or Go, is a more complicated game that involves cooperation and even covert signalling between players. It isn't considered a game in which AI would improve upon a human's performance considerably. In Bridge, opponents aren't aware of the cards that each of them holds, while, in Chess, opponents can make their strategies after observing the other's move. So much so that co-founder of Microsoft and avid bridge player Bill Gates once said that Bridge would be one of the last games where the computer couldn't better the human.