Tencent has hired the WizardLM team, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence research group formerly associated with Microsoft. The team, led by senior AI researcher Can Xu, has joined Hunyuan, Tencent’s AI development division, Xu announced on social media recently. Hunyuan, known recently for releasing innovative AI models generating video and 3D objects, has already benefited from the team’s expertise with the release of a new model, Hunyuan-TurboS 0416. According to WizardLM co-founder Qingfeng Sun, this model reportedly surpasses open-source competitors such as Google’s Gemma 3 series.
The exact timing of WizardLM’s departure from Microsoft is not clear, and details regarding the extent of the researcher transfer are also uncertain. Neither Microsoft nor Tencent has provided official comments so far.
WizardLM’s journey has not been straightforward. In April 2024, while still at Microsoft, the team released WizardLM-2, an ambitious set of AI models positioned alongside OpenAI’s GPT-4 in capability. However, Microsoft swiftly retracted the model from public access within one day upon realizing it had neglected necessary “toxicity testing,” a standard protocol aimed at ensuring safety and responsibility of AI outputs. Despite Microsoft’s quick removal, the model had already spread across online platforms, with numerous users uploading cached or fine-tuned versions—resulting in unintended proliferation.
This sudden deletion also impacted popular AI hosting platform Hugging Face. CEO Clément Delangue expressed frustration publicly, noting that Microsoft’s rapid removal unintentionally disrupted numerous collaborative and open-source projects, which had depended heavily on WizardLM’s models. These models had reportedly been downloaded over 100,000 times per month, highlighting their widespread use within the AI developer community.
With its transition to Tencent, WizardLM is expected to continue releasing new AI models under the evolving Hunyuan brand. Tencent, already investing heavily in artificial intelligence, has made significant strategic moves, reorganizing its Hunyuan division to foster more focused development efforts. Recently, Tencent cited its AI initiatives as a key driver behind an 8% increase in year-over-year earnings for Q1 of 2025. Furthermore, the company has earmarked an impressive 90 billion yuan—approximately $12.49 billion—for extensive AI-related capital expenditures this year, demonstrating its long-term strategic commitment to maintaining leadership in artificial intelligence technology.
