Tencent Cloud Unveils Advanced AI Chips

Tencent Cloud has announced the development of three state-of-the-art AI chips, asserting that they significantly outperform competing products, although detailed specifications are currently limited. As the third-largest cloud services provider in China, following Alibaba and Huawei, Tencent introduced these chips at its 2021 Digital Ecology Conference.

Overview of the New Chips

The three AI chips are as follows:

• Zixiao: This “AI reasoning” chip reportedly delivers double the performance compared to rival options. It integrates capabilities for image and video processing, natural language processing, and search recommendations.
• Xuangling: This SmartNIC or Data Processing Unit (DPU) facilitates the virtualization of storage and networking for cloud hosts without taxing the host CPU. Tencent claims it operates four times faster than comparable industry products, with no impact on CPU performance.
• Canghai: Designed for video transcoding, this chip allegedly achieves a 30% better compression rate than other products on the market, utilizing a multi-core architecture, efficient coding pipelines, and an advanced memory layout.

Development and Future Plans

While these performance claims are impressive, their accuracy has yet to be independently verified. The announcement follows Tencent’s establishment of a chip research and development lab in Penglai in 2020, aiming for comprehensive control over its chip design and verification processes.

Tang Daosheng, Tencent’s Senior Executive VP, expressed at the conference: “In response to robust business demands, Tencent has implemented a long-term investment strategy for chip research and development, already making significant strides in three key areas.” Currently, Tencent operates beyond Asia, with a presence in the USA, Brazil, Germany, and Russia, and is looking to expand further into Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

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