Tencent’s AI Assistant Yuanbao Tops China’s App Store, Surpassing DeepSeek and Doubao

Tencent’s AI assistant, Yuanbao, became the most downloaded free app on China’s Apple App Store, surpassing DeepSeek in downloads on Tuesday. Last week, it also overtook ByteDance’s Doubao AI, fueled by Tencent’s aggressive marketing campaign, according to Qimai Data.

Yuanbao is integrated with WeChat, China’s largest messaging and social media platform, giving it a competitive edge. The surge in AI interest follows the launch of DeepSeek R1, which demonstrated capabilities rivaling OpenAI’s ChatGPT despite using older hardware and a fraction of the budget.

In response, major Chinese tech firms, including Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, released updated AI models in the past month to capitalize on the growing demand. The success of DeepSeek also highlights China’s AI developers’ ability to innovate despite restrictions on advanced U.S. chips, shifting focus toward efficiency over scale.

Tencent’s stock responded positively, rising about 1% in Hong Kong trading on Tuesday, outperforming the Hang Seng Index’s 0.5% decline.