Business will thrive if they follow the trend, know the demand, and manage to deliver the supply.
In the AI industry, things were rather quiet, until OpenAI introduced ChatGPT and disrupted it. Those that saw the opportunity to commercialize Large Language Models, began to develop and launch their own AIs, upgrading with newer versions at an astonishing rate.
Life moves pretty fast in chatbot land.
Tencent is the creator of the most popular messaging app in China, and this time, the company said that it had begun allowing some users access to DeepSeek AI in conducting internet searches.
Particularly, the company is beta testing DeepSeek-R1 into Weixin, the domestic version of its WeChat. The messaging app, considered the most popular in China, shows that Tencent is actively developing AI, just like a growing number of Chinese internet firms.
Initially, only Weixin users can use the DeepSeek integration, not WeChat.
This is because Tencent has been trying to differentiate the two versions of its popular app - domestic and global - amid growing overseas scrutiny.
At this time, Weixin uses Tencent's proprietary Hunyuan Large Language Model to empower its AI search and improve experience.
By integrating DeepSeek, means that the Chinese tech giant is bringing in an external AI platform, while tech firms generally compete fiercely in developing the most advanced AI.
According to reports, Tencent has also integrated DeepSeek's AI models into four of its products of Tencent Cloud, the cloud computing service from Tencent.
The first two, are Tencent Cloud AI Code Assistant and Tencent Yuanqi, another AI assistant app, which are getting a DeepSeek addition, and that they're completely free to use.
Third, is Tencent LearnShare, an enterprise community product, which also offers DeepSeek model-based AI assistant for free.
Fourth, is Tencent Maps, which is also integrated with DeepSeek’s functions to aid users in more accurately searching for specific locations.
The result of this, Tencent shares climbed to the highest level since July 2021.
DeepSeek first shook, and also shocked the tech industry, after it's realized that its R1 model is capable of surpassing its Western counterparts, including OpenAI o1 in some benchmarks.
The company also managed to achieve that using far less resources, while using less-advanced chips compared to its U.S. rivals.
The emergence of DeepSeek AI model ramped up optimism over China’s AI capabilities, sparking an extended rally in local technology and internet stocks with exposure to AI.
The favorable sentiment was further boosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with prominent entrepreneurs, fueling hopes that the country’s authorities may adopt a more business-friendly stance.
Those invited to the event with the nation’s top leaders include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.
It's worth noting that before this, Chinese smartphone maker Honor updated its on-device assistant to also integrate DreepSeek’s AI model for users in China.