SHENZHEN: Tencent Holdings Ltd plans to at least double investments in artificial intelligence (AI) to more than 36 billion yuan in 2026, underscoring a big bet on OpenClaw-style agents to seize the upper hand in an increasingly combative arena.
China’s most valuable company plans to bankroll that outlay by curtailing the aggressive buybacks that’ve helped buoy its stock in recent years, as well as from growth of its gaming and ad businesses.
Tencent’s revenue grew 13% in the December quarter, its fifth straight period of double-digit growth.
The strong showing boosts Tencent’s bid to capture a shift to AI agents that could potentially reshape the leadership of the world’s biggest internet arena.
The Shenzhen-based company has in recent days rolled out a slew of products capitalising on the viral OpenClaw framework, and it’s developing a WeChat-native AI agent designed to help 1.4 billion users automate tasks from hailing a ride to booking hotels.
Still, the numbers failed to impress investors that had piled into Tencent’s stock over the past week, betting on its prime position to capitalise on a nationwide enthusiasm for agentic AI.
Executives didn’t provide concrete investment targets or specific products to whet that appetite. Shares in Prosus NV, a major shareholder, slid 4% in Europe.
OpenClaw “helps us consolidate our services, and functions,” founder Pony Ma told reporters on a call after results surfaced.
“It provides great inspiration for the development of our WeChat-based ecosystem.”
The initiatives mark Tencent’s most serious push into generative AI since the initial post-ChatGPT wave.
On Wednesday, the company said it will reduce the scale of share buybacks in 2026 to help bankroll spending on new AI products, without elaborating. — Bloomberg
