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Tencent launches three self-designed chips in expansion drive, helping boost China’s semiconductor development efforts
- Tencent unveiled on Wednesday its Zixiao artificial intelligence chip, Canghai video transcoding device and Xuanling network interface controller
- The internet giant’s semiconductor launch followed Alibaba’s introduction of its own self-designed Yitian 710 chip in October
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Tencent Holdings launched three new self-designed chips on Wednesday, enabling the Chinese internet giant to play a role in the country’s development efforts in semiconductors and to further expand beyond video gaming, mobile payments and social media.
“Chips are the key components of hardware and the core infrastructure of the industrial internet,” said Dowson Tong Taosang, president of Tencent’s cloud and smart industries group, as he unveiled the three chips at the company’s Digital Ecosystem Summit in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province.
The Shenzhen-based firm’s new silicon products include: artificial intelligence (AI) chip Zixiao, which is focused on processing images, video and natural language; video transcoding device Canghai; and network interface controller Xuanling.
Tong said Tencent has long-term plans for developing advanced chips, marking the first time the company has publicly shared the progress of its push into semiconductor research and development. Tencent did not reveal which major chip foundry it has contracted to manufacture the three silicon devices.
By designing its own chips, Tencent intensifies China’s push towards semiconductor self-sufficiency and the establishment of a competitive domestic supply chain for these devices.
Chip production is a priority in China’s 14th five-year plan from 2021 to 2025, as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to heat up US-China tech rivalry. The country’s chip efforts are also expected to help counter a global semiconductor shortage.
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