The artificial intelligence research team WizardLM, previously affiliated with Microsoft, has reportedly transitioned to Tencent's AI Lab as part of its Hunyuan division. Multiple core researchers confirmed the move on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), marking a significant shift in China's competitive AI landscape.

Can Xu, a senior Microsoft researcher who led WizardLM projects, announced his team's departure from Microsoft and integration into Tencent's Hunyuan group. This division has produced notable advancements in video generation and 3D content creation in recent years.

A Controversial Departure

The WizardLM team's journey hasn't been without turbulence. In April 2024, they released their WizardLM-2 model claiming near-GPT-4 capabilities, only for Microsoft to remove it the next day citing incomplete toxicity testing. Despite rushed compliance efforts, the model had already spread through open-source channels beyond Microsoft's control.

Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue publicly criticized Microsoft's takedown as destructive to open-source projects. With monthly downloads exceeding 100,000, WizardLM had established significant influence before the controversial removal.

Tencent's Strategic Expansion

The acquisition coincides with Tencent restructuring its Hunyuan division into two specialized teams while dramatically increasing infrastructure spending. Their Q1 2025 financial report attributes 8% revenue growth to AI initiatives and reveals plans for a massive $12.49 billion capital expenditure focused on AI development.

The release of Hunyuan-TurboS0416, WizardLM's first model bearing the Hunyuan name, demonstrates deep integration with Tencent. Co-founder Sun Qingfeng claims this model outperforms Google's Gemma3 series in multiple benchmarks - potentially giving Tencent an edge in open-source competition.

Neither Microsoft nor Tencent has officially commented on the personnel changes or timeline of the transition. The move highlights intensifying competition for top AI talent as Chinese tech giants challenge Western dominance in foundational models.

Key Points

1. Microsoft's former WizardLM team joins Tencent's Hunyuan division amid growing AI competition
2. The transition follows controversy over Microsoft removing WizardLM-2 for safety testing issues
3. Tencent is investing $12.5 billion in AI while restructuring its large model teams
4. Newly released Hunyuan-TurboS0416 reportedly outperforms Google's Gemma3 models
5. Neither company has officially confirmed details of the personnel changes