China’s Tencent leases 100,000 chips from US tech firm Oracle to accelerate AI push: Report
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The deal highlights the surging computing needs of Tencent’s AI expansion.
PHOTO: AFP
- Tencent signed a US$7 billion (S$8.95 billion), five-year lease with Oracle for 100,000 advanced AI chips not available in China to boost its AI development.
- The deal covers multiple Oracle data centres in South-east Asia and includes an upfront payment of about 30%.
- Tencent aims to accelerate AI projects, including large language models and image-generation tools, amid US export restrictions and China's tech push.
AI generated
Tencent signed its largest overseas lease deal with US cloud provider Oracle to access about 100,000 advanced AI chips that were not available in China, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Sept 30, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Chinese technology giant agreed earlier in 2026 to a five-year lease across multiple Oracle data centres in South-east Asia, according to the report.
The deal is estimated to be worth about US$7 billion (S$8.95 billion), with an upfront payment of about 30%, the report said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Oracle and Tencent did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the report.
The deal highlights the surging computing needs of Tencent’s artificial intelligence expansion, as the company ramps up investment in developing and deploying large language models.
Tencent recently released a preview version of its new AI image-generation model for professional creators, offering text-to-image and image-to-image capabilities, among other features.
Chinese firms have been racing to secure AI chips as US export curbs tighten and Beijing promotes home-grown alternatives to US technology providers. REUTERS