China's Tencent restructures AI product portfolio as competition heats up
Published: 8:30am, 23 Feb 2025 The Shenzhen -based social-media and video-gaming powerhouse recently incorporated several apps – including QQ Browser, keyboard tool Sogou Pinyin and learning assistant Ima – into the firm's Cloud & Smart Industries Group (CSIG), from their previous home at the Platform & Content Group, according to a report by Chinese digital media outlet The Paper. That followed the previous transfer of AI chatbot Yuanbao to CSIG from the firm's Technology Engineering Group.
A Tencent representative on Friday confirmed the company's reshuffle of its AI product portfolio. That revamp is expected to help Tencent bolster its AI business amid the rapid developments being pursued by internet peers like Alibaba Group Holding and Baidu , as well as innovative start-ups such as DeepSeek . Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The reshuffle reflects a shift in Tencent's AI strategy, as the company sharpens its focus on product experience and user feedback, according to Zhang Yi, founder and chief analyst at consultancy iiMedia.
'Unlike smaller start-ups, Tencent needs to deploy its AI capabilities in various applications for better monetisation opportunities, rather than just going through prolonged testing,' Zhang said.
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