Tencent Is Ready to Spend Big on AI, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Pony Ma Says

Chinese tech and gaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HKG:0700] is ready to invest heavily in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and Big Data, founder Pony Ma said in a speech to Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management on Sept. 8. "I feel that we are ready to invest in several basic fields," said Ma, who Forbes' ranks as the eighth richest man in tech worldwide. We will work with a range of sectors, academics and researchers via Internet Plus and other means." Internet plus is used to refer to the application of the internet and other information technology to traditional industries. All future technologies will be inseparable from these three areas, he added. "When they are combined, we will have a role to play.