Tencent Leases 100,000 AI Chips From Oracle
Tencent has reportedly signed a five-year agreement with Oracle to access about 100,000 advanced AI chips in Southeast Asia as it expands its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Tencent has reportedly signed its largest overseas computing lease with US cloud provider Oracle, gaining access to approximately 100,000 advanced AI chips that are not available for direct purchase in China. According to the Financial Times, the five-year agreement covers several Oracle data centres across Southeast Asia and is estimated to be worth about $7 billion, although Reuters said it could not independently verify the reported terms.
The reported agreement would give Tencent access to computing capacity needed to train and operate increasingly sophisticated AI models. The deal is also significant because Chinese technology companies have faced restrictions on obtaining some advanced US-made AI processors directly. By leasing computing capacity hosted outside China, Tencent can access advanced infrastructure while the physical chips remain in overseas data centres.
The reported $7 billion agreement includes an upfront payment of around 30 percent, according to the Financial Times. The spending comes as Tencent dramatically increases its investment in AI infrastructure. The company’s capital expenditure reportedly reached 53 billion yuan, or about $7.9 billion, in the second quarter, representing a 176 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.
Tencent is using its growing computing capacity to develop large language models, image-generation systems and AI agents. The company has been integrating AI into WeChat, which has more than 1.4 billion users, while also developing products such as Xiaowei and WorkBuddy. Tencent’s Hunyuan models have also improved significantly as the company attempts to compete with other major Chinese AI developers.
The deal highlights the enormous computing requirements of the current AI race and the growing importance of overseas data-centre capacity. Tencent and Oracle have not publicly confirmed the reported agreement, and Reuters noted that it could not independently verify the details. If confirmed, the reported lease would nevertheless represent a major investment in AI computing and another example of Chinese technology companies seeking access to advanced computing resources amid restrictions on semiconductor exports.
