BUSINESS TECH | Tencent expands AI, payments, esports, digital initiatives in Asia
Tencent’s latest AI products include WorkBuddy, an enterprise productivity agent designed to turn instructions into completed deliverables, and Miora, an AI-powered creative studio that uses persistent memory to generate graphics, videos and 3D assets from natural-language briefs.
Tencent is expanding its artificial intelligence, payments, gaming and digital wellbeing initiatives in Asia while reporting higher revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2026.
The company reported $28.4 billion in first-quarter revenue, up 9% year over year, while non-IFRS net profit increased 11% to $10.1 billion. Tencent said AI contributed to infrastructure improvements and productivity gains across its gaming, advertising, cloud and productivity businesses.
Tencent’s latest AI products include WorkBuddy, an enterprise productivity agent designed to turn instructions into completed deliverables, and Miora, an AI-powered creative studio that uses persistent memory to generate graphics, videos and 3D assets from natural-language briefs.
The company also introduced TokenHub, a Model-as-a-Service platform that provides developers with a single API gateway for accessing third-party AI models.
“With agents like WorkBuddy and Miora, we are helping organisations and professionals unlock greater productivity, accelerate creative execution, and achieve measurable outcomes in a secure and governed environment,” said Sherina Chen, global product operations manager for WorkBuddy and Miora.
Tencent said its latest large language model, Hy3, had the highest token usage on OpenRouter during the quarter, while WorkBuddy became one of the leading productivity AI agents in China.
Its Business Services revenue increased 20% year over year, driven by higher cloud demand in domestic and international markets. FinTech growth was supported by higher revenue from commercial payments and wealth management services.
Gaming also remained a major contributor to Tencent’s business. Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite and Delta Force recorded lifetime highs in quarterly gross receipts, while Roco Kingdom: World gained popularity during the quarter, according to the company.
Tencent is also expanding its financial technology services for international users.
TenPay Global launched a “Remit to China for Non-Chinese Citizens” feature that allows foreign passport holders to send remittances directly to China from their home countries. Foreign residents in China can receive remittances through phone numbers linked to WeChat.
The platform also upgraded Weixin Pay’s “Pay with Your Home E-Wallet” service through China’s unified cross-border QR-code gateway, expanding payment options for international visitors.
The company said the changes are intended to simplify payments for international visitors while supporting cross-border tourism and international connectivity.
Tencent is also working with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority on digital wellbeing.
The two organizations launched “Beyond the Screen: Healthy Digital Play,” a campaign aimed at helping families develop healthier digital habits.
The campaign uses interactive and gamified experiences and take-home resources to promote positive digital engagement among youths, parents and families.
IMDA and Tencent also signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation on digital wellbeing initiatives under Singapore’s Digital for Life movement. Tencent will co-develop educational content with IMDA, organize four community outreach activities and contribute approximately $19,370 to the Digital for Life Fund.
“As a company with deep expertise across digital entertainment and communications, we want to play a constructive role by helping families build meaningful digital habits that extend beyond the screen,” said Murphy Zhao, country manager of Tencent Singapore and head of Tech Group, Tencent Games.
In esports, Honor of Kings brought together teams competing for places at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, following regional qualifiers held from June 13 to 21.
Nine teams qualified through the regional competition: the Philippines, Indonesia, Korea Republic, Nepal, Hong Kong (China), Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. China, Malaysia and Thailand qualified directly.
The tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur and also drew representatives from the Malaysia SEA Games 2027 Organising Committee, who observed tournament operations and discussed digital solutions for fan engagement and event experiences.
Tencent’s PUBG Mobile marked its eighth anniversary with a three-day community event at Sunway Pyramid in Malaysia that drew more than 50,000 attendees.
The celebration coincided with the release of the game’s Version 4.3 “Evolving Universe” update and featured performances by Malaysian artists Nazu and MASDO, along with the live debut of the anniversary anthem “Infiniti – Kita Up” by Kidd Santhe and Yonnyboii.
The event also included cultural dance performances, a cosplay showcase and a KOL showmatch involving Malaysian players Soloz, Feekz and Yoodo Gank.
Tencent said PUBG Mobile would continue expanding localized community activities and on-ground engagements, including exploring opportunities in East Malaysia, particularly Sarawak.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
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