Tencent's Hunyuan Turbo S: A New Challenger in the AI Speed Race

Tencent's New AI Model Takes On DeepSeek R1 in the Battle for Speed and Efficiency

Hunyuan Turbo S vs. DeepSeek R1: Who Leads the AI Speed Revolution Tencent released its latest AI model, Hunyuan Turbo S, through the Chinese technology company on March 2, 2025. According to the company statements, Hunyuan Turbo S achieves reply times under one second, which stands ahead of DeepSeek R1 and similar models. Tencent's statement reveals that Hunyuan Turbo S delivers faster response times than "slow thinking" processes such as Hunyuan T1 and other models in the same category. The AI market competition between giants reaches a crucial point as Tencent introduces its new model, Hunyuan Turbo S, to the market. On the other hand, DeepSeek experienced rapid growth resulting in its R1 model gaining international recognition with its reasoning power and economical design standards. Tencent launched the Hunyuan Turbo S to battle against competitor models by focusing on performance speed at affordable costs. According to the company documentation, the model shows equal performance with in knowledge and math applications but reduces utilization expenses. The successful expansion of DeepSeek has forced larger companies to adjust their prices rapidly.

Tencent Unveils Hunyuan Turbo S, an AI Model Faster Than DeepSeek R1

Tencent, a Chinese tech behemoth, has shown a new AI model and claims that it can answer questions more quickly than DeepSeek's highly regarded R1. This underscores the mounting pressure on big rivals as the firm achieves both domestic and international success. Tencent's new AI model, Hunyuan Turbo S, is rolled out with rising competition spearheaded by the high growth in DeepSeek as the latter continued to put massive pressure on major Chinese technology players in both regional and global scenes.

Tencent releases new AI model it says is faster than DeepSeek-R1 - SiliconANGLE

Tencent releases new AI model it says is faster than DeepSeek-R1 Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. today released a new artificial intelligence model named Hunyuan Turbo S, designed as a "fast-thinking model," a rival to so-called "slow-thinking" models such as DeepSeek-R1. The company explained the model is capable of near "instant replies" within a second by doubling the output speed and cutting the delay of the first word out by almost 44%. Different from DeepSeek-R1 and other "reasoning models," which the company said "think a little and answer," the new Turbo S model is capable of beginning an answer immediately by using a short thinking chain that is more akin to human intuition. This is fused with a slow-thinking chain that provides reasoning capabilities for scientific, mathematical and rational answers. The company said Hunyuan Turbo S demonstrated performance comparable to leading models on the market such as DeepSeek-V3, OpenAI's GPT-4o and Anthropic PBC's Claude in benchmarks for math, reasoning and knowledge. The notable success of China-based DeepSeek's AI models, such as R1 and V3, has made numerous headlines in recent months causing numerous AI model developers to rapidly produce rival models. Competition has been hot from companies such as China's Alibaba Group Ltd. with its Qwen 2.5-Max model, which it claims outperforms V3. To create the model, Tencent used a Hybrid-Mamba-Transformer fusion to reduce the computational complexity and KV-Cache of the model's Transformer architecture. The end result model is a hybrid that can use Mamba deep learning architecture, which excels at handling long sequences, while still maintaining the Transformer's capability to understand the context behind complex ideas and statements in data. "This is also the first time that industry has successfully applied the Mamba architecture to the ultra-large Mixture of Experts model without damage," Tencent said in its announcement. Mixture of experts is a machine learning technique where multiple AI models are split apart according to distinct expertise and work together to solve problems. The company also said the new architecture significantly reduces the training and deployment costs. With rival companies such as DeepSeek releasing competitive models at cheap prices this has driven Tencent and other companies slash service prices and research more efficient AI training and inference. Tencent added as a flagship model, Turbo S will become core for foundation models in the future for inference, text and code generation.

Tencent Releases Hunyuan Turbo S to Rival DeepSeek as Competition Heats up in China

The model outperforms DeepSeek-V3, Claude-3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4o in several tasks. Chinese tech giant Tencent has released its new AI model, Hunyuan Turbo S, which it says can answer queries faster than the DeepSeek-R1 model. The model is available on the official Tencent Cloud website and can be accessed via API. The Hunyuan Turbo S doubles the output speed and reduces the first-word delay by 44%, the company announced on its official WeChat channel. Tencent said that the fast-thinking model is analogous to human intuition, which often results in rapid responses compared to rational thinking. However, the company said Hunyuan Turbo S efficiently solves problems by fusing long and short thinking chains. The model uses an innovative hybrid-mamba-transformer fusion architecture. It optimises efficiency by lowering the computational complexity of the conventional transformer, minimising KV-Cache storage usage, and reducing training and inference costs. The company also said that the model leverages Mamba's efficiency in processing long sequences while preserving the Transformer's strength in capturing complex contextual relationships. Tencent also claims this is the first time the Mamba architecture has been applied losslessly to a super-large Mixture of Experts (MoE) model. Tencent also released benchmark results, and the model is better, if not on par with other large language models like DeepSeek-V3, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and GPT-4o -- in mathematics, coding, and reasoning tasks. The Hunyuan Turbo S's input API price is 0.8 yuan ($0.11) per million tokens, and its output price is 2 yuan ($0.28) per million tokens. Source: Tencent Amid the rise of DeepSeek, the competition in China's AI ecosystem is heating up. Recently, Alibaba introduced a preview of the Qwen QwQ-Max reasoning model and committed to a $52 billion investment in AI infrastructure over the next three years. It was also reported that DeepSeek plans to release its next reasoning model, the DeepSeek R2, 'as early as possible'. The company initially planned to release it in early May but is now considering an earlier timeline. The model is expected to produce 'better coding' and reason in languages beyond English.

Faster Than DeepSeek? Tencent Reignites AI War With Hunyuan Turbo S - Decrypt

Chinese tech company Tencent just introduced its latest large language model, Hunyuan Turbo S, featuring significantly faster response times without sacrificing performance on complex reasoning tasks. Tencent claims that its new AI doubles word generation speed and cuts first-word delay by 44% compared to previous models, according to official information that the Chinese tech giant shared on Weibo. The model uses what appears to be a hybrid architecture combining Mamba and Transformer technologies -- the first successful integration of these approaches in a super-large Mixture of Experts (MoE) model. This technical fusion aims to solve fundamental problems that have plagued AI development: Mamba handles long sequences efficiently while Transformer captures complex contexts, potentially lowering both training and inference costs. Being hybrid means that the model combines reasoning capabilities with the traditional approach of normal LLMs that provide immediate response. "The combination and complement of fast thinking and slow thinking can make large models solve problems more intelligently and efficiently," Tencent wrote when announcing the model on its official WeChat channel. The company drew inspiration from human cognitive processes, designing Hunyuan Turbo S to provide instant responses like human intuition while maintaining the analytical reasoning capabilities needed for complex problems. Performance benchmarks show Hunyuan Turbo S matching or exceeding top-tier models across various tests. It scored 89.5 on MMLU, slightly above OpenAI's GPT-4o, and achieved top scores in mathematical reasoning benchmarks MATH and AIME2024. For Chinese language tasks, it reached 70.8 on Chinese-SimpleQA, outperforming DeepSeek's 68.0. However, it lagged in some areas like SimpleQA and LiveCodeBench, where GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 performed better. The release intensifies the ongoing AI competition between Chinese and American tech firms. DeepSeek, a Chinese startup that has gained attention for its cost-effective, high-performing models, has been putting pressure on both Chinese tech giants and American companies like OpenAI with its highly capable and ultra efficient models. DeepSeek's models reportedly cost around $6 million to train and are extremely cheap to run, charging around $1.10 per million tokens of output vs OpenAI's GPT-4.5 and its wildly expensive $150 per million output tokens. Tencent priced Hunyuan Turbo S competitively at 0.8 yuan (approximately $0.11) per million tokens for input and 2 yuan ($0.28) per million tokens for output -- significantly cheaper than previous Turbo models. The model is technically available via API on Tencent Cloud, with the company offering a free one-week trial, but it is still not available for public download. Despite the announcement, Hunyuan Turbo S isn't yet widely accessible for download, but can be accessed via the Tencent Ingot Experience site. Interested developers and businesses need to join a waiting list through Tencent Cloud to gain access to the model's API. The company hasn't provided a timeline for general availability via Github. The model's focus on speed could make it ideal for real-time applications like virtual assistants and customer service bots -- areas that are very popular in China and in which Hunyuan Turbo S could offer significant advantages if it delivers on its promised capabilities. Chinese competition in the AI space continues to heat up, with the government pushing for more adoption of local models. Beyond Tencent, Alibaba recently introduced its latest state-of-the-art model Qwen 2.5 Max, and startups like DeepSeek have released increasingly capable models in recent months.

New competition for DeepSeek? Tencent launches new AI model, claims it is 'faster' that DeepSeek

The battle for AI superiority in the US had touched its peak in 2024, and now it has spread to China, where companies are rolling out their own AI models, claiming that they are better than the other. Tencent is the latest top tech company to join this herdDeepSeek AI had created a market rout upon its entry into the field of artificial intelligence through its V3 and R1 AI models, but it now looks like it is facing some competition from Tencent, another Chinese tech company that is claiming to have built an AI model that gives faster responses to prompts than DeepSeek, according to a Reuters report. For starters, Tencent's product, Hunyuan Turbo S, that has been launched is fairly new but boasts of having superior capabilities than DeepSeek, something that could be a broad claim considering the way DeepSeek managed to give the likes of Meta, Google, and Nvidia a hammering at the stock markets upon launch. DeepSeek AI models stand out for their blend of efficiency, versatility, and user-focused design. Built to optimize computational resources, these models deliver high performance without excessive energy use, making them cost-effective and accessible for businesses and individuals. Lastly, these models are designed for real-world applications, aiding industries like healthcare, finance, and education by streamlining workflows and offering data-driven insights. Like other AI models, core strength is its adaptability. DeepSeek models handle diverse tasks -- from natural language processing (like answering questions or generating text) to data analysis -- without needing constant retraining. This flexibility saves time and resources for users. Ethical AI is another priority. DeepSeek emphasizes reducing biases and ensuring transparency, fostering trust in automated decisions. It is yet to be seen if Tencent possesses these qualities by China's startup DeepSeek AI's new models, or if it turns out to be even better in the first place. Has Tencent launched its own AI model? Yes, Tencent has launched its own AI model known as the Hunyuan Turbo S. Is Hunyuan Turbo S better than DeepSeek? It is yet to be understood if the Hunyuan Turbo S is better than DeepSeek but Tencent claims that it can give faster responses.

Tencent Releases New AI Model, Says Replies Faster Than DeepSeek-R1

DeepSeek's AI chatbot that has surpassed OpenAI's ChatGPT in app store d Chinese tech giant Tencent on Thursday released a new AI model that it says can answer queries faster than global hit DeepSeek's R1, in the latest sign the startup's domestic and overseas success is putting pressure on its larger competitors in China. The Hunyuan Turbo S is able to reply to queries within a second, distinguishing itself "from DeepSeek R1, Hunyuan T1, and other slow thinking models that need to 'think for a while before answering'", Tencent said in a statement. Tencent added that when tested on fields like knowledge, math, and reasoning, Turbo S' capabilities matched DeepSeek-V3, which powers DeepSeek's AI chatbot that has surpassed OpenAI's ChatGPT in app store downloads. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The success of DeepSeek's R1 and V3 models, which in a first for a Chinese firm have been widely praised and adopted across Silicon Valley, has sent Chinese tech giants like Tencent scrambling to put out new versions of AI models they began developing after the arrival of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022. Last month, just days after DeepSeek-R1 shook the global tech order and triggered an AI stock sell-off outside China, e-commerce giant Alibaba released the Qwen 2.5-Max model, which it claimed outperforms DeepSeek-V3 across the board. Tencent also said that the usage costs of the new Turbo S were many times cheaper than its previous iterations, highlighting how DeepSeek's open-source and low-pricing strategy has forced other leading Chinese AI firms to charge users less. © Thomson Reuters 2025

Tencent Releases Turbo AI Model It Says Is Faster Than DeepSeek

Tencent Holdings Ltd. joined the ranks of companies measuring themselves against DeepSeek by touting how much faster its latest AI model is. The Hunyuan Turbo S artificial intelligence model, released on Thursday, is designed to respond as instantly as possible, distinguishing itself from the deep reasoning approach of DeepSeek's eponymous chatbot, Tencent said. The deployment cost of Turbo S has also been greatly reduced, the company added.

Tencent Claims its Fast Thinking' Hunyuan Turbo S is the First Lossless Mamba-Based Large MoE Model

The model outperforms DeepSeek-V3, Claude-3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4o in several tasks. Chinese tech giant Tencent has released its new AI model, Hunyuan Turbo S, which it says can answer queries faster than the DeepSeek-R1 model. The model is available on the official Tencent Cloud website and can be accessed via API. The Hunyuan Turbo S doubles the output speed and reduces the first-word delay by 44%, the company announced on its official WeChat channel. Tencent said that the fast-thinking model is analogous to human intuition, which often results in rapid responses compared to rational thinking. However, the company said Hunyuan Turbo S efficiently solves problems by fusing long and short thinking chains. The model uses an innovative hybrid-mamba-transformer fusion architecture. It optimises efficiency by lowering the computational complexity of the conventional transformer, minimising KV-Cache storage usage, and reducing training and inference costs. The company also said that the model leverages Mamba's efficiency in processing long sequences while preserving the Transformer's strength in capturing complex contextual relationships. Tencent also claims this is the first time the Mamba architecture has been applied losslessly to a super-large Mixture of Experts (MoE) model. Tencent also released benchmark results, and the model is better, if not on par with other large language models like DeepSeek-V3, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and GPT-4o -- in mathematics, coding, and reasoning tasks. The Hunyuan Turbo S's input API price is 0.8 yuan ($0.11) per million tokens, and its output price is 2 yuan ($0.28) per million tokens. Source: Tencent Amid the rise of DeepSeek, the competition in China's AI ecosystem is heating up. Recently, Alibaba introduced a preview of the Qwen QwQ-Max reasoning model and committed to a $52 billion investment in AI infrastructure over the next three years. It was also reported that DeepSeek plans to release its next reasoning model, the DeepSeek R2, 'as early as possible'. The company initially planned to release it in early May but is now considering an earlier timeline. The model is expected to produce 'better coding' and reason in languages beyond English.

Tencent releases new AI model, says replies faster than DeepSeek-R1

BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant Tencent (0700.HK), opens new tab on Thursday released a new AI model that it claims can answer queries faster than global hit DeepSeek-R1, in the latest sign the startup's domestic and overseas success is putting pressure on its larger competitors in China. The Hunyuan Turbo S is able to reply to queries within a second, distinguishing itself "from DeepSeek R1, Hunyuan T1, and other slow thinking models that need to 'think for a while before answering'", Tencent said in a statement. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista Editing by Alexandra Hudson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Disrupted

Tencent Says Its New AI Model Can Outrun DeepSeek | PYMNTS.com

The company's Hunyuan Turbo S AI model was built to respond as instantly as possible, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Feb. 27), thus distinguishing itself from the deep reasoning offered by DeepSeek, a China-based AI startup. Last month, DeepSeek released an AI chatbot it said could perform as well as OpenAI's ChatGPT while costing a fraction of the price to develop. The launch rocked tech markets, raising questions about whether massive investments in AI companies are necessary. Gokul Naidu, a consultant for SAP, told PYMNTS in the wake of the launch that DeepSeek isn't just a new AI model but "a wake-up call for the entire AI industry." "It challenges entrenched assumptions about the cost of innovation and offers a path forward where cutting-edge technology is both affordable and sustainable," Naidu said. "As we move deeper into 2025, the conversation around AI is no longer just about power -- it's about power at the right price." "People expect onboarding to be frictionless, easy and responsive -- and to be done across phones, tablets and computers," Griefer said. Integrating third-party tools means lenders can make faster underwriting decisions and still guarantee a positive user experience.