Tencent Says Its New AI Model Can Outrun DeepSeek

Chinese tech giant Tencent said its new artificial intelligence model is faster than that of DeepSeek.

The company’s Hunyuan Turbo S AI model was built to respond as instantly as possible, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Feb. 27), thus distinguishing itself from the deep reasoning offered by DeepSeek, a China-based AI startup.

Last month, DeepSeek released an AI chatbot it said could perform as well as OpenAI’s ChatGPT while costing a fraction of the price to develop. The launch rocked tech markets, raising questions about whether massive investments in AI companies are necessary.

Gokul Naidu, a consultant for SAP, told PYMNTS in the wake of the launch that DeepSeek isn’t just a new AI model but “a wake-up call for the entire AI industry.”

“It challenges entrenched assumptions about the cost of innovation and offers a path forward where cutting-edge technology is both affordable and sustainable,” Naidu said. “As we move deeper into 2025, the conversation around AI is no longer just about power — it’s about power at the right price.”

There has also been pushback. Google’s AI head, Demis Hassabis, said DeepSeek’s cost reporting didn’t take into account several factors. Plus, cybersecurity researchers earlier this month found a “Pandora’s box” of issues with the DeepSeek chatbot.

Meanwhile, Chinese companies like Tencent and Alibaba have been testing their AI models against DeepSeek, per the Bloomberg report. At the same time, Tencent has integrated DeepSeek’s tech into its WeChat platform. DeepSeek has also been embraced by government agencies throughout China.

DeepSeek’s surge in popularity led the company earlier this week to offer reduced prices to convince users to access its service during off-peak hours.

In other AI news, Maverick Payments Chief Operating Officer Ben Griefer told PYMNTS in an interview published Wednesday (Feb. 26) about the use of AI to improve the onboarding process at financial services companies.

“People expect onboarding to be frictionless, easy and responsive — and to be done across phones, tablets and computers,” Griefer said.

Integrating third-party tools means lenders can make faster underwriting decisions and still guarantee a positive user experience.

“Once they are onboarded, AI is proving extremely valuable when you’re looking at transaction modeling … and activity from actual users,” he said. “AI is going to be crucial as we move into faster payments.”

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