Tencent Chief Says Gaming Business Under Threat, Catching Up in AI 

The Tencent logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)
The Tencent logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)
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Tencent Chief Says Gaming Business Under Threat, Catching Up in AI 

The Tencent logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)
The Tencent logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)

Pony Ma, chief executive and co-founder of Tencent Holdings, has said that the company's video games business faces great challenges from competitors but is catching up in artificial intelligence (AI) development.

Ma, speaking at Tencent's annual meeting in a stadium in Shenzhen on Monday, said that the company has been resting on its laurels in gaming while competitors have delivered new hits. Video games account for more than 30% of Tencent’s revenue.

Chinese media outlet Jiemian published parts of Ma’s speech online. A person with direct knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named because they are not permitted to speak to the media, confirmed the contents.

Ma’s speech underscores concerns whether Tencent, the world’s biggest gaming company and the operator of China’s biggest social network WeChat, can defend its status as China’s No.1 tech company at a time marked by intensifying competition and new disruptive technologies.

Tencent did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

“Gaming is our flagship business...But in the past year, we have faced significant challenges,” Ma said, “We have found ourselves at a loss, as our competitors continue to produce new products, leaving us feeling having achieved nothing.”

Ma added that the new games that Tencent has launched had not performed as well as the company had hoped.

Ma’s remarks come at a time when Chinese game developers miHoYo and NetEase have outshone Tencent with hit titles like “Genshin Impact” and “Eggy Party”. While Tencent’s past hits such as “Honor of Kings” and “PUBG Mobile” continue to deliver strong revenue, more recent products are falling short of expectations.

When it comes to AI, Ma said Tencent has caught up. “We can finally follow the pace of the first-tier companies. We don’t count ourselves as the most leading but at least we are not too behind,” he said.

Ma said Tencent’s focus now should be on integrating its “Hunyuan” AI model into different business scenarios as a way to boost efficiency rather than to quickly turn AI into products.

“In the short term, within the next one or two years, I feel like there will not be a massive, AI-native application yet,” he said.

Another focus of Ma’s speech was on live-streaming e-commerce. Tencent has been trying to make WeChat more like ByteDance’ short video platform Douyin in recent years, which has been making massive revenue from live-streaming e-commerce.

“WeChat is our most robust platform regarding daily user amount and its ecosystem. But it is 12 years of age... Now how we can find new sprouts from the old tree that is WeChat is the big question for us,” Ma said.



Microsoft to Invest $700 Million to Boost Poland's Cybersecurity

Microsoft's Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith (L) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (R) react during a press conference following their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Warsaw, Poland, 17 February 2025. EPA/LESZEK SZYMANSKI
Microsoft's Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith (L) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (R) react during a press conference following their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Warsaw, Poland, 17 February 2025. EPA/LESZEK SZYMANSKI
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Microsoft to Invest $700 Million to Boost Poland's Cybersecurity

Microsoft's Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith (L) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (R) react during a press conference following their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Warsaw, Poland, 17 February 2025. EPA/LESZEK SZYMANSKI
Microsoft's Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith (L) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (R) react during a press conference following their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Warsaw, Poland, 17 February 2025. EPA/LESZEK SZYMANSKI

Microsoft plans to invest an additional 700 million dollars in Poland to improve Polish cybersecurity in cooperation with the country's armed forces, the company's president said on Monday without elaborating.
In a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the investment would be for a second phase of the already completed $1 billion Polish data center project announced in 2020.
The data center was opened in 2023, providing cloud services to businesses and government institutions.