Chinese Tech Giant Leverages Open-Source AI to Boost Overseas Cloud Growth

TLDRs;

• Tencent accelerates global cloud expansion, leveraging open-source AI models to meet rising overseas demand for localized AI solutions.
• The company’s domestic cloud success provides scale and expertise for international growth, following years of rapid market share gains in China.
• Competition remains fierce, with Tencent facing Alibaba, AWS, Microsoft, and new AI startups, but it banks on AI specialization.
• Despite trading below its all-time high, Tencent’s diversified businesses and strong earnings forecasts are fueling investor confidence.

Tencent Holdings, one of China’s leading technology giants, is intensifying its push into global cloud computing by leaning heavily on its artificial intelligence capabilities.

According to Dowson Tong, head of Tencent’s cloud and smart industries group, the company’s international cloud business has become the fastest-growing segment of its operations, posting double-digit growth in recent years.

The strategy centers on exporting Chinese open-source AI models to overseas clients, where demand for localized solutions is rising. By providing infrastructure that allows markets to host large language models (LLMs) domestically, Tencent is positioning itself as a flexible and adaptive provider in a sector increasingly defined by AI-driven applications.

Building on Strong Domestic Foundation

Tencent’s international ambitions are rooted in a robust record of growth at home. The company has long been a dominant player in China’s cloud market, achieving rapid gains throughout the late 2010s.

For instance, in Q2 2019, Tencent’s cloud services achieved an impressive 88% year-on-year growth, securing its spot as China’s second-largest cloud provider, just behind Alibaba.

This domestic success has given Tencent both the technical expertise and the operational scale needed to compete on the global stage. China’s wider cloud industry, which grew 58% year-on-year to $2.3 billion in Q2 2019, provided Tencent with the ideal testing ground to refine its services before scaling internationally.

Competing in a Crowded Market

Tencent’s ambitions abroad come with steep competition. The company faces rivals not only from Chinese peers like Alibaba, Baidu, and ByteDance but also from global giants such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Emerging startups like DeepSeek are also entering the fray, adding new pressure to an already crowded market.

However, Tencent believes its edge lies in specialization. By exporting open-source AI models developed through years of experience in China’s highly competitive AI landscape, Tencent aims to offer something different from Western providers.

This positioning as an AI-first cloud provider may help the company bypass some of the infrastructure advantages enjoyed by its longer-established global rivals.

Investor Optimism Despite Valuation Discount

Beyond its operational strategy, Tencent’s market performance is drawing attention. In 2024, the company added more than US$150 billion in market value, though its share price remains 26% below its all-time high.

Analysts note that Tencent trades at a lower forward price-to-earnings ratio (17.6x) compared to global peers like Meta (22x) and Nintendo (40x).

Meanwhile, investors remain optimistic, especially as Tencent diversifies revenue streams. Upcoming earnings reports are expected to show an 11% rise in revenue, while new gaming titles such as Valorant Mobile and Delta Force could fuel growth in 2026. C

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