Tencent, one of the largest tech companies in China, has announced its newly-launched computer chips. This was the first time that the firm spoke about its plans regarding boosting semiconductor competency in the country.
Tencent Invests in Chip-Making Business
WUZHEN, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 26: People visit Tencent AI photo studio booth during the Light of Internet Expo of the 2021 World Internet Conference on September 26, 2021 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province of China.
On Wednesday, Nov.3, CNBC reported that Tencent has started exploring the world of semiconductor making besides its investment in gaming, AI, and other tech-related fields.
The company unveiled three chips that come with unique designs.
The first one is dubbed as Zixiao, which is an AI-focused semiconductor. From what we could imagine from other chips, it incorporates artificial intelligence in several tasks such as image processing, programming, and understanding the human language.
Another chip that Tencent unveiled is centered on video transcoding. For the firm, this is essential hardware that will help in converting clips into various video formats. The third and the last chip is created for cloud computing.
Over the past years, China has been seeking effective ways to catch up with foreign companies when it comes to semiconductor manufacturing. Apparently, the country lags behind the nations with advanced capability in making chips.
Last October, e-commerce titan Alibaba disclosed more information about its first-ever server chip called Yitian 710.
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Why China Struggles in Chip-Making Competition?
Tech Times reported last month that Chinese tech giants have been experiencing difficulties in producing self-designed chips.
A chip expert said that China will still need help from foreign competitors to establish a strong campaign for the semiconductor business. It will be much harder, especially with the technological tension between it and the United States.
While many Chinese semiconductor firms can create their own designs for their products, they would still outsource raw materials and other equipment abroad, according to the analyst.
Will Tencent Compete With Meta?
Mark Zuckerberg's announcement about the new company brand has sparked several issues among people and other tech companies. The Facebook company, which is now called Meta, has become one of the most discussed topics so far.
According to the CEO, the sudden rebranding will give rise to the creation of his planned metaverse environment, which will make use of a mixed reality platform for all of its users.
So far, it even gets interesting given that China is capable of developing high-quality technologies. If it decides to compete with Meta, Tencent will likely be a candidate to do so.
According to Bloomberg, the Chinese tech giant has the potential to have a better position than Meta when it comes to building a virtual world. From its several businesses scaling from gaming to entertainment, Tencent is open to huge possibilities that will bring a big difference to the customers.
Amid this topic, the metaverse infrastructure could likely be affected by Beijing's ongoing crackdown. If Tencent wants to pursue its metaverse service, it should think of its consequences if that happens.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
