Tencent Unveils Three In-House Chips... Joins China's 'Semiconductor Rise' Movement

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Tencent, China's largest technology company, has unveiled three types of self-designed chips. This move is seen as Tencent's response to the Chinese government's focus on fostering the semiconductor industry and its declared goal of achieving a so-called 'semiconductor rise.'

According to major foreign media on the 3rd (local time), Tencent revealed three types of semiconductors (chips) it designed itself at its annual 'Digital Ecological Environment Summit' held in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.

The semiconductors unveiled by Tencent include 'Zixiao,' an AI chip; 'Changhai,' a video conversion chip; and 'Suanling,' a network interface control chip.

Tang Daosheng, Tencent's Senior Vice President and Head of Cloud and Smart Industries, explained the background of developing self-designed semiconductors, stating, "Semiconductors are the core components of hardware and the key infrastructure of the industrial internet."

Tencent's entry into the semiconductor industry is interpreted as an active response to the Chinese government's 'semiconductor rise' policy. At the same time, it is seen as a strategic move to expand its business scope from existing fields such as video games, mobile payments, and social media into the semiconductor sector.

Earlier in July, Tencent officially announced its entry into the semiconductor industry by posting job openings for semiconductor-related engineering positions.

Tencent is China's largest technology company operating the world's biggest gaming company, the mobile payment app WeChat Pay, and the social media platform WeChat.

Other major Chinese technology companies, Alibaba and Baidu, have already entered the semiconductor industry.

Baidu, China's largest search engine company and an AI enterprise, began mass production of its first independently developed AI semiconductor, 'Kunlun,' in 2018.

Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, established a semiconductor division called 'Pingtouge' in 2018 and introduced its self-developed AI chip the following year.

Recently, Alibaba also unveiled its own chip using a 5-nanometer (nm) process.

With Tencent's entry into the semiconductor industry, all three major Chinese technology companies known as 'BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent)' have now entered the semiconductor market.

Chinese major smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi also revealed a camera-related chip called 'Surge 1' this year.

China's largest telecommunications company China Mobile and Luxshare Precision, China's first Apple OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), also joined the semiconductor business in July, continuing the wave of participation in China's public and private sector 'semiconductor rise.'

The Chinese government is providing support to the semiconductor sector through measures such as tax incentives and subsidies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.