Chinese Tech Giant Tencent has announced that it has been investing in the research and development of semiconductor chips, along with other Chinese tech firms. The company highlighted its efforts via a post on the WeChat account for Tencent Cloud (via Reuters).
Tencent is known for its games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and the social media app WeChat. In a time where most of the world is dependant on the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for high-quality fabrication needs, countries like the US and China are looking out for options to reduce this dependency.
Tang Doasheng, Senior Executive VP of Tencent's cloud and smart industry group says, "Facing scenarios with strong business needs, Tencent has had a long-term plan and investment for chip R&D". He further highlighted three chips that are developed by Tencent. Among these three, the first one is specifically developed for AI computing and is called "Zixiao". The second one is developed for video processing and is known as "Canghai" while the third one is developed for high-performance networks and is named "Xuanling".
Another Chinese tech giant, Alibaba, unveiled a new server chip for data centers last month. The research and development show China's plan to push the domestic semiconductor industry.
The US Government is also pushing companies to develop semiconductors in the country, Recently, Intel Foundry Service secured an agreement with the Department of Defense for chip manufacturing. Although Intel also has its own fab and an upcoming one in Arizona, creating advanced fabs like TSMC's will take many years due to technological advancements.
