Tencent Cloud becomes the latest Chinese tech company to incorporate DeepSeek into its cloud service

Tencent Cloud, a cloud computing service operated by Chinese internet giant Tencent, announced on Sunday that it has deployed Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek’s R1 model onto its Hyper Application Inventor application service, enabling developers to seamlessly access the AI service within just three minutes, the company announced in a statement on Sunday.

The move comes on the heels of Huawei’s similar practice, which launched the DeepSeek R1 model on its cloud service on Saturday in collaboration with a third-party provider.

Developers can bypass the traditionally complex setup process, which includes purchasing GPUs, installing drivers, configuring networks and storage, setting up environments, and downloading models. With just two simple steps, they can deploy the DeepSeek-R1 model and start using it within minutes, read a post on Tencent Cloud’s WeChat public account.

Liu Dingding, a veteran tech industry analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday that this development is particularly significant for startups, as it provides a seamless, ready-to-use AI solution. “Since users no longer need technical expertise or deal with hardware procurement, they can concentrate on leveraging AI for their business applications.”

There would be a huge lift in the productivity for entrepreneurs in startups, especially those of micro size, Liu said.

Liu said the move also demonstrates an increasing trend of collaboration among Chinese tech firms, marking a shift away from the intense rivalry that previously characterized the industry. The sense of cooperation and collaboration offered a better environment for domestic technology companies in the tech competitions with their US counterparts.

Tencent’s move closely followed Huawei, which announced the launch of the DeepSeek R1/V3 inference service based on Huawei Cloud’s service and claimed that DeepSeek models deployed on its platform can achieve results comparable to the deployment of global high-end graphics processing unit (GPU) models, according to a post on the company’s WeChat public account.

With DeepSeek gaining global recognition for its groundbreaking AI capabilities, many global tech companies including US-based GPU maker Nvidia are integrating DeepSeek into their own platforms – a decision widely seen as a strategic recognition of DeepSeek’s technological prowess.

This happens as some countries in the past week moved to block the Chinese AI platform, citing “security concerns.”

DeepSeek’s AI assistant became the most downloaded mobile AI app across 140 markets, with India leading in new user adoption, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.