Tencent Holdings, which runs the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue and China’s biggest social media platform WeChat, has become the latest mainland technology company to push the adoption of locally designed artificial intelligence (AI) chips, as the country cuts the use of imported semiconductors such as those from Nvidia.
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The Shenzhen-based tech conglomerate’s cloud computing unit, Tencent Cloud, said it was supporting “mainstream domestic chips” in its AI computing infrastructure, without naming any Chinese integrated circuit brand.
Tencent has “fully adapted to mainstream domestic chips” and “participates in the open-source community”, Tencent Cloud president Qiu Yuepeng said at the company’s annual Global Digital Ecosystem Summit on Tuesday.
It is a commitment that reflects growing efforts in the country’s semiconductor industry and AI sector to push forward Beijing’s tech self-sufficiency agenda amid US export restrictions on China and rising geopolitical tensions.
That comes weeks after AI start-up DeepSeek said its updated V3.1 model was designed for the next generation of “home-grown chips to be released soon”.
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In July, a group of Chinese semiconductor and AI companies formed the Model-Chips Ecosystem Innovation Alliance to advance the adoption of locally developed processors for AI projects.
