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Tencent Cloud Unveils AI Initiatives at World Economic Forum

At the recent Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Dowson Tong, the Senior Executive Vice-President of Tencent and CEO of Tencent Cloud, articulated a compelling vision for the future of artificial intelligence (AI). He emphasized the transformative potential of AI when coupled with open ecosystems that empower both consumers and enterprises. According to Tong, the true value of AI is unlocked when users have access to a variety of large models designed for specific, real-world applications.

Tong pointed out that the common perception of AI often revolves around a singular, powerful system, typically referred to as AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). However, he stressed that there exists a multitude of diverse models, each suited for different tasks. "At Tencent Cloud, we recognize that our customers desire choices in their AI tools," he stated. This insight has shaped Tencent's AI strategy, which aims to provide model-agnostic products and tools. By doing so, customers regain the power to select the models that best fit their specific needs.

This approach forms the foundation of Tencent's AI strategy, which combines proprietary model development with an openness to global innovation in large models. Tencent strives to ensure that every user and organization can identify the most effective model for their unique challenges, enabling them to tackle real-world issues effectively.

Internal Innovations as a Model for Large-Scale AI Development

Tencent's own operations serve as a testing ground for its AI vision. The company has seen significant success with its internal AI coding assistant, CodeBuddy, which is now utilized by over 12,000 engineers. Remarkably, CodeBuddy generates more than half of all new code at Tencent, drastically reducing average coding time by over 40%. Tong highlighted the efficiency of the tool, mentioning that 90% of the code for Tencent's upgraded AI CLI tool was generated by CodeBuddy itself.

In addition to these internal developments, Tencent is making substantial investments in its full-stack Hunyuan large model series. Over the past year, the company has introduced over 30 new models that cover various domains such as enhanced hybrid reasoning, image generation, video synthesis, and 3D content creation. The high-performance Hunyuan 2.0 model is particularly noteworthy, employing a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture that boasts 406 billion parameters – a leading figure in the industry in terms of inference capability and efficiency.

Moreover, Tencent's open-source Hunyuan 3D model has gained immense popularity, being downloaded over 3 million times from the Hugging Face platform. This has positioned the model as a go-to resource for creators, developers, and open-source communities around the globe. Currently, the Hunyuan series supports over 900 internal business scenarios at Tencent, enhancing functionalities from Tencent Meeting to Weixin/WeChat, alongside gaming and advertising services. This direction is reflected in Tencent's financial performance, which reported a 21% increase in marketing service revenue and a 22.8% rise in gaming revenue during the past year, largely driven by AI innovations.

Bringing Real-World AI Solutions to Various Industries

Tencent's robust AI framework comprises agent-based tools, cloud-native platform support, and easy-to-integrate solutions. This strategy has already demonstrated effectiveness across more than 30 different industries. For instance, retailers utilize Tencent's AI for expedited 3D product design, while medical researchers apply it for new drug discovery. Marketers have also benefitted, leveraging these tools to enhance conversion rates significantly.

A notable case study comes from Bambu Lab, a leader in the 3D printing industry, which adopted the Hunyuan 3D model to overhaul its design process. This initiative has democratized professional-grade modeling, leading to a surge in consumer creativity.

Tong also underscored the significance of equipping younger generations with AI tools. He advocates for educational institutions to incorporate AI into their curricula, allowing students to familiarize themselves with these technologies. He stated, "Encouraging curiosity among the younger audience and facilitating access to AI tools will foster a generation confident in using these technologies as educational aids."

About Tencent Cloud

Tencent Cloud stands as a pivotal player in the global cloud sector, dedicated to crafting innovative solutions aimed at addressing real-world challenges while facilitating the digital transformation of numerous industries. By leveraging cutting-edge advancements like cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security, Tencent Cloud aims to provide businesses worldwide with top-tier cloud products and services. Its mission encompasses a wide array of sectors, including gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, real estate, retail, travel, and transportation.