New | Tencent names Zhang Tong head of its artificial intelligence lab
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Tencent Holdings, the operator of China’s largest social network, has appointed a machine-learning expert to head its artificial intelligence lab, joining competitors in making a push to claim the next frontier in internet technology.
Zhang Tong, an expert in big data, and the former head of Baidu Inc’s big data lab, will oversee AI Lab, according to a Tencent statement. Zhang will lead 50 AI scientists in research and development in areas involving machine learning, computer vision, speech recognition, and natural language processing.
He will also lead a team of more than 200 engineers with product development backgrounds to transfer technology to Tencent’s existing products in gaming, social media, content and online tools.
The Shenzhen-based company is expected to compete in many areas with rivals Baidu and Alibaba Group, which are racing to expand their own AI activities.
The appointment is part of a move by Tencent to take a leading role in AI development, following the launch of the AI Lab in April 2016.
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“We’ve been developing AI for the past 18 years at Tencent and will continue to invest in building world-class AI capabilities and applications. Our hope is for AI to have a positive impact on people’s lives,” said Martin Lau, president of Tencent in a statement.
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