Dialogue with Tencent’s Dowson Tong: Increasing Investment in AI Chips and Collaborating with Various Chip Manufacturers with an Open Mind

“AI-related revenue growth is quite significant. As a cloud service provider, the AI wave’s pulling effect on cloud infrastructure is undeniable. In the fields of models and Agents, we have also developed numerous customer cases, which further drive revenue growth,” said Dowson Tong.

“In the AI chip sector, we have seen explosive growth in demand, so we have continuously increased investment over the past few years. Additionally, C-end users’ demand for AI is equally clear, with user value being highly visible. We will continue to deepen our efforts in this area in the future,” he added, noting that the daily active users (DAU) of Tencent’s “Yuanbao” are growing rapidly.

Tong also revealed that Tencent AI is advancing adaptation efforts with multiple chip manufacturers. “Different large model application scenarios have varying requirements for chip configurations. Tencent focuses on software, models, and digital technology. We will collaborate with various chip manufacturers with an open mind, selecting the optimal hardware for different scenarios to develop more adaptable models and tools.”

Currently, the AI industry faces severe “leaderboard chasing,” with many AI companies’ large models frequently ranking high on lists but suspected of using inflated data. What is Tencent’s stance on this?

Tong clearly stated that Tencent’s model R&D is not aimed at topping leaderboards: “We always focus more on how to address user pain points and meet user needs in specific scenarios—investment in this direction is far more important than chasing leaderboard rankings. Leaderboard performance is just one dimension of a model’s capability, but whether a model is truly useful is ultimately determined by users.”

Previously, Tencent Hunyuan significantly increased its user base by being one of the first to integrate DeepSeek, and there is considerable external interest in Tencent’s follow-up strategy regarding open-source large model collaborations. In response, Tong said: “Earlier this year, a large number of users showed strong interest in the DeepSeek model, which reflects genuine demand. Tencent was one of the earliest companies to embrace DeepSeek, and this decision was fundamentally based on users’ actual needs.”