Tencent, Baidu Look to Capitalize on DeepSeek’s Stunning Rise
By Liu Peilin and Ding Yi
Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc. are launching search functions powered by the large language models developed by DeepSeek, joining the ranks of global tech giants seeking to capitalize on the rise of the artificial intelligence (AI) developer that has sent a shockwave through the industry.
Tencent, for example, is incorporating the full version of the DeepSeek-R1 model into Weixin, the Chinese version of its instant messaging app WeChat, to power its search capabilities, though the function is still in beta testing, Tencent told Caixin in a statement Sunday.
While the function is in beta, selected users can use the “Search with AI” option from the search bar to access the R1-powered service, along with Tencent’s own AI model Hunyuan, the statement said.
Tencent did not give a specific timetable for the official launch of the AI-enabled search service, noting that its release will hinge on the results of the beta test and feedback from users.
The R1, trained with 671 billion parameters, can power searches under the “quick answer” and “deep thinking” options that give users responses with different levels of depth, according to screenshots provided by a user who tested the service. The “deep thinking” option will take the user through the model’s reasoning process, generating a more comprehensive answer to a query. The responses are mainly based on articles published on public Weixin accounts. The entire process takes four to five seconds.
Currently, the R1-powered search service only provides results based on publicly available content on the internet and from the Weixin ecosystem, Tencent said, adding that users’ private information will be well protected.
Before the AI-powered search beta, Tencent had already integrated DeepSeek models into some of its products, including an AI coding assistant and an AI chatbot app called Tencent Yuanbao.
In a separate statement Sunday, Baidu also announced plans to integrate DeepSeek models and its proprietary Ernie AI model into its search engine, without giving a timetable for the official launch of the new function.
This announcement came just days after Baidu said it will make Ernie Bot completely free from April 1, a move seen as a response to DeepSeek’s launch of a free AI chatbot.
At the World Governments Summit in Dubai last week, Baidu CEO Robin Li was asked about DeepSeek’s rapid rise. He didn’t answer the question directly, saying only that “innovation cannot be planned” and that its core function will be to reduce costs and increase productivity.
When asked whether AI models could become profitable despite high development costs, Li said that tech companies must continue investing to maintain their competitive edge. He expressed optimism about enterprise applications, but noted that consumer-facing AI has not yet achieved the same dominance of the mobile internet. He does not yet see AI evolving into a dominant consumer platform.
DeepSeek took the world by storm in January with its R1 model, which it said is trained far cheaper than cutting-edge models from OpenAI and Google, even though its model has comparable capabilities.
According to web analytics firm Similarweb, DeepSeek’s website traffic surged more than twentyfold in January from the previous month, reaching 278 million visits in a single month. While this still lags behind ChatGPT’s 3.8 billion visits, DeepSeek has already surpassed platforms such as Apple iCloud and Salesforce.
DeepSeek’s stunning ascent has triggered concerns that the U.S. government may tighten its tech export restrictions amid calls for stricter curbs on China’s AI ambitions.
In a recent opinion piece, analysts from Huatai Securities Co. Ltd. said that the sudden rise of DeepSeek may prompt Washington to strengthen controls on exports of higher-end AI chips and limit its tech firms from open-sourcing large models to prevent the diffusion of the technology.
Earlier this month, U.S. and Chinese tech giants including Microsoft Corp., Amazon Web Services Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. added DeepSeek’s AI models to their offerings, aiming to attract more developers and users.
Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
caixinglobal.com is the English-language online news portal of Chinese financial and business news media group Caixin. Global Neighbours is authorized to reprint this article.
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