BEIJING, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Tencent ( TCTZF ) reported a

third-quarter revenue growth of 15% on Thursday, as China's

largest social media and gaming company benefited from strong

gaming demand and expanding AI-driven services.

The Shenzhen-based technology company posted revenue of 192.9

billion yuan ($27.08 billion) for the three months ended

September 30, better than the 188.9 billion yuan average of

analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.

Gaming revenue rose 15% to 42.8 billion yuan at home and 43%

to 20.8 billion yuan overseas. That growth was driven by titles

including "Honor of Kings" and "Peacekeeper Elite", as well as

newer games such as "Delta Force".

Revenue from advertising rose 21% to 36.2 billion yuan,

boosted by artificial intelligence that improved targeting

capability.

Net profit climbed to 63.1 billion yuan, compared with a

57.3 billion yuan average analyst estimate, LSEG data showed.

Tencent ( TCTZF ) has been increasing AI investment, alongside peers

such as Alibaba as well as U.S. tech majors Microsoft

and Google.

The company has said it expects AI-focused capital expenditure

to reach the "low teens" as a percentage of revenue in 2025.

Third-quarter capex totalled 13 billion yuan versus 19.1

billion yuan in the previous quarter.

Tencent's ( TCTZF ) AI investment comes amid escalating technology

tensions between China and the U.S., with U.S. export

restrictions making it difficult for Chinese companies to

purchase advanced AI chips from foreign suppliers such as

Nvidia.

Tencent ( TCTZF ) has previously said its stockpiled AI chips should

protect it from U.S. trade measures, and that alternative chips

are available domestically.

Tencent ( TCTZF ) has integrated AI across platforms this year. It has

embedded startup DeepSeek's model into WeChat, its super-app

used by over 1 billion people in China for messaging and

payments.

The company has also launched Yuanbao, a ChatGPT-style

chatbot that ranks among China's most popular AI assistants

alongside ByteDance's Doubao.

Tencent ( TCTZF ) is also developing proprietary AI capability. It

unveiled text-to-image generator Hunyuan Image 3.0 in September

and has introduced services that convert text and images into 3D

visuals.

($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan renminbi)