WeChat embracing DeepSeek for tech leap

WeChat, China's leading social media platform, is conducting small-scale tests to integrate DeepSeek's R1 large model, joining a group of Chinese tech and auto giants in embracing DeepSeek for greater artificial intelligence capability.

Tencent, WeChat's owner, confirmed to China Daily on Sunday that users included in the tests are able to see the "AI Search" label at the top of the search bar and access the full version of DeepSeek's R1 model for free, the company said.

Multiple Tencent products are exploring integration with DeepSeek, such as Tencent Cloud's AI code assistant, so as to offer users richer experiences and services, it added.

With WeChat, a super app that spans from social media to online payments and short videos, jumping on the bandwagon of DeepSeek's advanced large models, China's AI ecosystem is set to reach new highs, industry experts said.

Zhao Gang, director of Chinese market consultancy CIO Manage, said that the growing DeepSeek ecosystem will foster greater cooperation between upstream and downstream partners, businesses and individual users, which will ultimately strengthen China's AI sector.

As of Monday, at least 200 companies have announced their integration with DeepSeek, spanning multiple sectors including telecommunications, cloud computing, semiconductors, finance, automotive and mobile technology.

Major players such as Huawei Technologies and Alibaba Group have confirmed their use of DeepSeek's large models, while around 20 automotive companies have integrated it into intelligent engine rooms and AI-driven operations.

Chinese automaker Geely said it has started to use DeepSeek technology to train its own large language models, including vehicle control and in-car interaction, which is expected to significantly improve the vehicle's ability to learn individual driver and passenger preferences for greater user experience.

"On the other hand, the open-sourcing model of DeepSeek will reduce model usage costs. It will activate the enterprise application market, leading to rapid growth in industry collaborations and corporate customers for large model applications," Zhao said.

DeepSeek has also built a homegrown supply chain alliance, including 278 local companies, which has increased the domestic production rate of key intellectual properties from 19 percent in 2022 to the current 64 percent.