Tencent's chip division head Gao Jianlin has resigned to found a startup, targeting the high-performance AI CPU track in the RISC-V space.

According to MaxForAI's disclosure, Gao Jianlin, a core lead in Tencent's chip research and development, recently left the tech giant to launch a startup focused on high-performance AI servers and Agentic AI, with plans to develop high-performance CPUs based on the RISC-V architecture. Gao is widely regarded as one of the early core drivers of Tencent's in-house chip ecosystem. Public records show he formed Tencent's FPGA hardware team in 2013, began laying the groundwork for AI chip R&D in 2018, established Penglai Lab in 2020, and spearheaded the development and data center deployment of multiple AI chips for Tencent. Unlike the currently fiercely competitive AI GPU market, Gao's new venture will center on CPUs. Gao believes that as Agentic AI advances rapidly, AI inference processes will involve model calls, tool execution, searches, database interactions, and extensive task scheduling, making CPUs take on a more critical scheduling and control role in AI systems. Reportedly, Gao was already involved in RISC-V-related R&D during his tenure at Tencent, contributing to multiple technical areas including chip architecture, verification, and backend development. His new company plans to build high-performance server CPUs based on the open RISC-V instruction set to enter the AI infrastructure market. To date, the startup's name, financing details, and specific product launch timeline have not been made public. The market is closely watching whether it will emerge as another key player in China's AI chip space targeting server CPUs and agent infrastructure.