Beijing, Apr 20 (Reporter) Chinese esports giant Hero Esports is betting big on artificial intelligence (AI), and is now using integration of AI models to advance its operations, to become a global industry leader. “We are pilot-testing several AI models, including DeepSeek (a Chinese AI company developing large language models), in all aspects of the business,” said Danny Tang, co-founder and CEO of Hero Esports. The company is also adapting a local version of DeepSeek to analyse patents and historical contracts to identify areas that might “require more attention”, she said, reported South China Morning Post. The esports company, backed by gaming mega-conglomerate Tencent Holdings, and Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group’s use of AI models is yet another step into China’s efforts to dominate the global video-gaming arena sector, which over the decades has a cultural and economic juggernaut. Tang said one goal of AI adoption is to free up time for the team of around 1,200 to focus on more creative work, with Hero Esports having developed its own AI toolkit to streamline various production workflows such as setting timelines, automating camera work and creating highlight reels, thus enhancing the overall efficiency and output quality. The AI OB system, which provides real-time data analysis during esports events, has been deployed in tournaments for ‘PUBG Mobile’ and its Chinese version, ‘Peacekeeper Elite’, both published by Tencent. The company organises more than 80 tournaments and 7,000 matches every year, with an online fan base of over 800 million. “People used to think of China as only being good at taking things from one to 100, instead of a nation that can achieve the ‘zero-to-one’ innovations,” Tang said. Recent breakthroughs such as China’s first AAA video game ‘Black Myth: Wukong’, which earnt great international acclaim, and DeepSeek’s power-efficient AI models are changing perceptions about the country, according to Tang. “China’s innovations have been here all along – people just need to see them,” she said. A key initiative in Hero’s globalisation strategy is the Asian Champions League (ACL), the first multi-title esports tournament in Asia. Featuring nine games, including Tencent’s ‘Honour of Kings’ and international hits like ‘Valorant’ and ‘Counter-Strike 2’, the ACL finals are set for May. The tournament also serves as a gateway to the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia, which will begin in July. “In esports, China is a really, really strong part, and sometimes people just need to be there to see it and believe it,” Tang said, pointing out that the Chinese audience alone accounted for over half of the 250 million viewing hours of the Esports World Cup last year. Tang said the company’s approach to engaging directly with gaming communities, combined with its new AI initiatives, can help the company tap into significant unrealised potential in the US$2 billion industry...////...