Tencent profit jumps 82%, beating estimates after strong video gaming, ad growth

Tencent profit jumps 82%, beating estimates after strong video gaming, ad growth

“Looking forward, we continue to invest in our platforms and technologies including AI, enabling us to create new business value and better serve user needs.” The Tencent Games booth seen at the annual China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, also known as ChinaJoy, in Shanghai on July 26, 2024. Photo: AFP Video gaming sales, traditionally … Read more

Tencent to close online education service as tech giant cuts back on noncore operations

Tencent to close online education service as tech giant cuts back on noncore operations

The professional education service Tencent Ketang, which translates to “classroom” in English, will cease operations on October 1, according to a notice posted on its website, without providing any reason. While users will no longer be able to access new courses on the platform from August 1, they can still watch lessons that have already … Read more

Tencent launches Yuanbao AI assistant app as internet giant moves to close gap with other Chinese chatbots

Tencent launches Yuanbao AI assistant app as internet giant moves to close gap with other Chinese chatbots

Yuanbao can be used to analyse and summarise documents, provide questions and answers, and generate texts and images, similar to the functions of ChatGPT and alternative Chinese AI chatbots. Tencent’s AI assistant was built on the company’s own large language model (LLM) – the technology behind ChatGPT and other generative AI services – known as … Read more

Chinese social media platform Weibo removes fake images showing a rapidly ageing Tencent founder Pony Ma

Chinese social media platform Weibo removes fake images showing a rapidly ageing Tencent founder Pony Ma

Chinese social media platform Weibo has deleted a number of accounts publishing and spreading a retouched photo of a grey-haired and wrinkle-faced Pony Ma Huateng, Tencent Holdings’ founder and CEO, in the latest example of efforts to protect the country’s top entrepreneurs from online abuse. “A small number of users posted and hyped up false … Read more

ByteDance CEO wants to whip employees into shape, as they lack a ‘sense of crisis’ amid fierce competition at home and abroad

ByteDance CEO wants to whip employees into shape, as they lack a ‘sense of crisis’ amid fierce competition at home and abroad

The chief executive of ByteDance, owner of TikTok and its Chinese sibling Douyin, said the company lacks a sense of crisis, which has made the Chinese social media giant slow and inefficient in the face of fierce competition. That introspection was made by Liang Rubo – co-founder of ByteDance who took over as its chief … Read more

Tencent chairman Pony Ma sets confident tone for internet giant in 2024 amid WeChat’s improved business prospects, sources say

Tencent chairman Pony Ma sets confident tone for internet giant in 2024 amid WeChat’s improved business prospects, sources say

The 52-year-old Ma, who kept a low profile during China’s 32-month crackdown on Big Tech firms, delivered that positive message in a speech before Tencent’s annual staff meeting on Monday at a stadium in Shenzhen, the company’s home city in southern Guangdong province. Founded in November 1998, Tencent must find new lifelines in its video … Read more

Tencent’s e-commerce drive takes off in 2023 on the back of super app WeChat’s short video and live streaming function

Tencent’s e-commerce drive takes off in 2023 on the back of super app WeChat’s short video and live streaming function

WeChat’s short video and live streaming function enabled the platform to record nearly triple gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2023, according to information released on Thursday during the app’s annual Open Class Pro developer conference held in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province. While the platform’s exact GMV figures were not released, conference attendees were … Read more