Chinese tech giant Tencent is launching its artificial intelligence model called “Hunyuan” for business applications. This move follows the recent unveiling of AI-powered applications by Baidu, another major Chinese tech company, in response to more supportive regulation in the country.
Tencent had been testing its Hunyuan AI model internally, focusing on applications in advertising and fintech. The company is also set to release an AI chatbot as part of its AI offerings.
Tencent plans to integrate Hunyuan’s capabilities with its existing products, particularly in video conferencing and social media. The company operates WeChat, a widely used messaging and payments app in China, as well as Tencent Meeting, a video conference platform.
The launch of AI chatbots by Chinese tech companies aligns with new Chinese regulations on generative AI that came into effect in mid-August. These chatbots are designed to respond to queries in a conversational and human-like manner, primarily in Chinese.
When asked about the regulations, Tencent’s Dowson Tong mentioned the importance of having guardrails in place for new AI technologies to ensure the quality of services and prevent the spread of false information.
While Chinese authorities have shown greater support for generative AI, Chinese companies still face challenges due to U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductors, particularly graphics processing units (GPUs) used for training AI models. Tencent highlighted the supply shortage of GPUs in China and expressed hope for larger supplies in the coming months.
Tencent, like other Chinese companies, believes that AI has significant potential for various industries, including tourism, finance, public services, and customer service. They see value in customizing AI models for specific business use cases and leveraging enterprise data to train these models, which can also enhance data protection.
Overall, Tencent’s launch of its Hunyuan AI model represents another step in the growing adoption and development of AI technologies in China’s tech ecosystem.
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