Oracle shares rise on reports of massive Tencent AI chip deal

(Sharecast News) - Oracle shares were higher in pre-market trade on Thursday on the back of reports that Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent is to lease 100,000 Oracle chips as it ramps up its AI agenda. The American data storage, cloud computing and enterprise software giant will be the beneficiary of Tencent's largest international lease agreement to date, according to the Financial Times.

According to the report, which cited two people familiar with the matter, the agreement is valued at roughly $7bn, 30% of which is due upfront.

The deal includes a five-year lease, giving Tencent access to AI chips unavailable in China, across several Oracle data centres in south-east Asia.

The deal comes at a time of escalating trade tensions between the US and China, with Beijing pushing domestic companies to use home-grown AI technologies while Washington ramps up export controls.

Oracle futures were up nearly 2% at $139.75 ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.