Tencent Open-Sources Hunyuan 3D 2.1 Model at CVPR 2025
At the prestigious CVPR 2025 conference, Tencent made waves by open-sourcing its Hunyuan 3D 2.1 large model—the first complete industrial-grade 3D generation solution available to developers worldwide. This strategic move positions Tencent at the forefront of accessible 3D content creation technology.
The model has already gained remarkable traction, with 1.8 million downloads on Hugging Face, demonstrating strong global developer interest. Early adopters report significant improvements over version 2.0, particularly in rendering complex objects like jewelry boxes with crisp textures and realistic lighting effects that eliminate the artificial "plastic" appearance common in digital models.
Technical Breakthroughs
Geometry optimization forms the backbone of the upgrade, acting as the digital "skeleton" that defines shapes with unprecedented precision. The model now produces cleaner topology and higher mesh density, enabling more accurate basic textures. More importantly, Tencent has introduced a dedicated PBR (Physically Based Rendering) material generation system that simulates how light interacts with surfaces in the real world.
In blind tests comparing output quality, Hunyuan 3D 2.1 achieved a 78% preference rate for material realism—a crucial advantage for industries like gaming and film production where visual fidelity directly impacts user experience. The technology also shows promise for practical applications in industrial design and digital twin development.
Democratizing 3D Creation
Tencent isn't just releasing model weights—the company is sharing the complete toolkit:
- Full training code
- Data processing workflows
- Deployment guides for consumer GPUs
The open-source package enables both commercial customization and academic research. Remarkably, the system can run on standard workstations, lowering barriers for indie developers and small studios.
For those ready to experiment, Tencent provides:
Key Points
- First full-chain open-source industrial 3D generation model
- PBR material generation reduces artificial "plastic" appearance
- Geometry improvements enable higher mesh precision (78% preference in tests)
- Complete toolkit released: weights, code, and training workflows
- Optimized for consumer hardware accessibility