Tencent's bet on China's AI leaders: sweeping investments from DeepSeek to AI chips

Tencent is shifting its investment focus from internet and consumer businesses toward China’s AI ecosystem.

It has recently backed large language model, AI agent, and AI chip companies including Moonshot AI, DeepSeek, Manus, Zhipu AI, MiniMax, and Light Intelligence.

The strategy positions Tencent closer to the core layers of China’s AI stack, from models to infrastructure.

This could strengthen Tencent’s influence over China’s AI competition and the allocation of capital across the sector.