Tencent joins great AI rush

Online giant keen to keep lead in social media and gaming

TOKYO - The days when Chinese internet companies could simply rely on the country's sheer population are over. That's why Tencent Holdings Ltd's Pony Ma is betting on the future of artificial intelligence.

Tencent has assembled more than 250 people for its AI Lab, a fledgling unit intended to work with its most profitable divisions from gaming to social media.