TMTPOST -- Tencent Holdings, the Chinese tech giant known for operating the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue and the country’s dominant social media platform WeChat, is accelerating the adoption of domestically designed artificial intelligence (AI) chips, signaling a broader shift in China’s tech landscape as the country moves to reduce its dependence on foreign semiconductors.

At its annual Global Digital Ecosystem Summit on Tuesday, Tencent Cloud, the company’s cloud computing unit, announced that it now fully supports “mainstream domestic chips” within its AI computing infrastructure, though it did not specify any particular Chinese chip brands. Tencent Cloud president Qiu Yuepeng emphasized that the firm has not only adapted to locally produced chips but also actively participates in the open-source community.

The move reflects China’s growing push for technological self-sufficiency, a priority reinforced by U.S. export restrictions and rising geopolitical tensions that have limited access to high-end semiconductors, including those from Nvidia. The initiative also follows recent developments in the domestic AI sector, such as AI start-up DeepSeek’s announcement that its updated V3.1 model is optimized for the next generation of “home-grown chips,” and the July formation of the Model-Chips Ecosystem Innovation Alliance by a group of Chinese semiconductor and AI firms to advance local processor adoption for AI projects.

Tencent Cloud is collaborating with multiple domestic chip makers to select the most suitable hardware for diverse AI scenarios. Dowson Tong Tao-sang, senior executive vice-president at Tencent and CEO of its Cloud and Smart Industries Group, told Chinese media at the summit that the company is also pursuing “long-term strategic investment” to optimize hardware-software integration, aiming to provide cost-effective AI computing power through a combination of chip types.

Tencent president Martin Lau Chi-ping reinforced this approach during the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call, saying that the firm currently possesses sufficient processors for AI training and “many options for inference chips,” despite uncertainties arising from U.S. export policies. Lau added that Tencent is simultaneously focusing on software enhancements to maximize the efficiency of its existing chip inventory.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of recent regulatory scrutiny of foreign chip suppliers. On Monday, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said that Nvidia had violated antitrust laws and the conditions imposed by the Chinese government on its 2019 acquisition of Israeli interconnect solutions provider Mellanox Technologies.

The regulator, which launched an investigation in December into the US$6.9 billion deal, indicated that it would continue probing without disclosing further details. Tencent Cloud’s pivot to domestic chips aligns with Beijing’s broader effort to strengthen the local semiconductor ecosystem and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.

In addition to hardware announcements, Tencent Cloud unveiled an updated version of its Hunyuan 3D-generation system and highlighted the growth of its Yuanbao AI assistant, now ranked among China’s top three native AI applications by daily active users. The company also shared plans to expand its AI and cloud operations internationally, with upcoming data center projects in Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Tencent Cloud’s efforts have already contributed to a growing presence in the mainland AI cloud market. According to research firm Omdia, the unit ranked as the fourth-largest AI cloud services provider in China in the first half of 2025, capturing a 7 percent market share behind Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud services, ByteDance-owned Volcano Engine, and Huawei Technologies’ cloud computing arm.

Tencent’s focus on domestic AI chips and infrastructure comes as the broader Chinese AI and semiconductor ecosystem continues to gain momentum. The integration of locally designed processors into Tencent’s platforms is expected to accelerate the adoption of Chinese technology across cloud, gaming, and social media sectors, while also reducing exposure to potential supply chain disruptions tied to international trade restrictions.

Shares of Tencent, listed in Hong Kong, closed largely unchanged at HK$645 on Tuesday, marking the highest level the stock has hit since early 2021. Analysts view the company’s support for domestic AI chips as part of a long-term plan to maintain technological leadership and resilience amid a shifting global landscape.