--- title: "Tencent’s Pony Ma teases new AI social feature for Yuanbao app" description: "Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent, announced a new AI social feature called Yuanbao Pai in the Yuanbao app, currently in beta testing. This feature aims to enhance user interaction within online social groups. " type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/273705161.md" published_at: "2026-01-26T13:04:16.000Z" --- # Tencent’s Pony Ma teases new AI social feature for Yuanbao app > Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent, announced a new AI social feature called Yuanbao Pai in the Yuanbao app, currently in beta testing. This feature aims to enhance user interaction within online social groups. Tencent is striving to catch up in the competitive AI landscape, where it ranks behind ByteDance and DeepSeek. Ma emphasized a steady approach to AI development and highlighted Tencent's investment in infrastructure and talent, including the hiring of former OpenAI researcher Vinces Yao. Additionally, Tencent launched a 1 billion yuan giveaway campaign to boost consumer engagement. Pony Ma Huateng, founder and CEO of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, has teased a new artificial intelligence-powered social feature in the company’s latest push to keep pace in China’s intensifying AI race. In an internal address to staff, Ma said Tencent was beta testing a new social tool inside its AI assistant app Yuanbao, and encouraged employees to try it out and help debug the feature, according to Tencent staff who attended the meeting. The feature, known in Chinese as Yuanbao Pai, integrates AI with online social groups, allowing users to interact and collaborate with friends – Tencent’s latest experiment as it expands the capabilities of its consumer-facing AI app. Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tencent’s move comes as competition among China’s Big Tech groups and AI start-ups continues to heat up, with the Shenzhen-based firm still playing catch-up to front runners such as ByteDance and DeepSeek. ByteDance-owned Doubao remained the mainland’s top consumer AI app in December, with 155 million weekly active users in the second week last month, according to data from QuestMobile. That figure was nearly double the 81.56 million recorded by DeepSeek’s eponymous chatbot, which ranked as the market’s No 2 player over the same period. Tencent’s Yuanbao, Ant Group’s Ant A-Fu and Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen app were ranked No 3, 4 and 5, respectively, according to QuestMobile. Ant Group is the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post. Ma also defended Tencent’s measured approach to AI, even as he acknowledged that the emergence of DeepSeek and OpenAI’s ChatGPT had reshaped the trajectory of AI development. “It’s Tencent’s style to advance steadily and surely,” Ma told staff at the annual gathering. He pledged to step up the company’s long-term investment, saying Tencent had already made sweeping upgrades to its infrastructure and talent pool in the field. Tencent’s renewed push has been underscored by its recent recruitment of former OpenAI researcher Vinces Yao Shunyu, who was appointed to lead the company’s AI infrastructure efforts, including large language model development. Yao was named chief AI scientist under the CEO’s office, reporting directly to Tencent president Martin Lau Chi-ping. With Yao’s appointment, Ma said Tencent had shifted its focus towards hiring young, “AI-native” talent, with the goal of “rebuilding Tencent’s AI research and development from the ground up”, according to attendees. On Sunday, Tencent also escalated its consumer AI push by launching a 1 billion yuan (US$137 million) hong bao giveaway campaign through Yuanbao. Ma said he hoped the initiative could replicate the success of WeChat’s red packet feature, which became an overnight sensation during the Spring Festival in 2014. ### Related Stocks - [00700.HK - TENCENT](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00700.HK.md) - [TCTZF.US - Tencent Holdings Limited](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TCTZF.US.md) - [TCEHY.US - Tencent](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TCEHY.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 腾讯被错杀了？ | 伯恩斯坦认为，腾讯股价下跌，主要受 AI 模型开发进度落后和游戏行业 AI 颠覆担忧的双重打击。目前腾讯以 14-15 倍 2027 年预期市盈率交易，接近 2022-2023 年行业面临游戏审批停滞和疫情封控时的低谷水平。尽管腾讯在聊天机 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275903716.md) | | 坚守 “不打扰用户”，微信终于对元宝红包出手了 | | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/274749084.md) | | 用 AI 模拟新加坡教师 随时随地帮学生加强数学能力 \| 联合早报网 | WizzTutor 联合创办人徐锦泉和张健伦利用人工智能技术创建了一个在线教育平台，旨在帮助学生随时随地提高数学能力。徐锦泉的创意源于他作为教师时发现学生深夜仍在学习的现象。WizzTutor 提供便捷的在线服务，学生只需使用 iPad 或 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276220565.md) | | 报道：AI 军事用途存分歧，美国国防部接近与 Anthropic 切断关系 | 报道称，双方关系破裂源于数月来围绕美国军方如何使用 Claude 工具的激烈谈判。Anthropic 特别希望确保其人工智能不会被用于大规模监控公民，或用于开发无需人类参与即可部署的武器。美国政府方面则希望能够将 Claude 用于 “所有 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276069534.md) | | “AI 交易” 的关键变量：服务业敞口越高，AI 颠覆风险越大，“AI 基建” 最有利 | 大摩量化研究显示，“服务业敞口” 是 AI 投资的关键变量，与收益呈显著负相关。由于市场担忧 AI 颠覆，服务业敞口高达 53% 的 “AI 采用者” 表现垫底。相反，“AI 基础设施” 敞口仅 14%，受颠覆风险最小且受益于资本支出，在六 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275977957.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.