Chinese tech giant Tencent will channel more resources to industries seeking deeper business integration with internet technologies as part of its efforts to bank on a digitally industrialized future.
The Shenzhen-based firm will delve into smart services for retail, health, education, transport, manufacturing and urban development sectors, Dowson Tong, senior executive vice president with Tencent, said Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Tencent Global Partner Conference.
The two-day event, centering on openness and inter-growth, is the company's first large-scale event since it announced a landmark strategic organizational upgrade in late September.
The 20-year-old company has integrated its original seven business groups into six, forming two new business groups in cloud and smart industries, as well as platform and content, respectively.
"The Internet sector is in a new phase as users want not only content, but also products and services to be customized and of high quality," Tong said.
China has been promoting its "Internet Plus" initiative since 2015, aiming to upgrade the country's traditional sectors through internet technology applications.
While expanding investment in the so-called industrial internet, Tong said Tencent would build on its vast presence among consumers by offering more customized, high-quality and interactive content.
Tencent has stepped up efforts in recent years in utilizing cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to aid traditional sectors to offer smarter services. Tencent Miying, an AI-aided medical imaging and AI-aided diagnosis tool, has helped doctors read more than 100 million medical images for over 900,000 patients, according to Tong.
The company will leverage the technological advances brought by its AI, online security and quantum computing labs to empower other industries, Tong said.
Qiu Yuepeng, head of Tencent's cloud business, said the group would work with Peking University to set up a business school specialized in the industrial internet to empower enterprises' digital transformation.
Tencent executives' remarks came on the heels of an open letter disd Wednesday by co-founder and chairman Pony Ma, who said that companies should go beyond their traditional realms and work with internet companies to reach more customers and build a sound industrial ecosystem.
