Key facts
- The Financial Times reported the deal would have given Tencent access to about 100,000 advanced AI chips unavailable in China due to curbs from Washington and Beijing.
- Tencent had agreed to a five-year lease across multiple Oracle data centers in Southeast Asia, according to the Financial Times.
- US officials approached Oracle to raise concerns about the Tencent deal, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
- Officials in Guangdong asked Tencent to support domestic Chinese chips, the report said.
- Oracle, Tencent and the White House did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the report.
Oracle canceled a multibillion-dollar chip leasing contract with Tencent after bowing to pressure from the Trump administration, the Financial Times reported on November 4, 2026. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The newspaper said US officials approached Oracle to raise concerns about the Tencent deal, citing people familiar with the matter. It also reported that Tencent received visits from top officials in Guangdong, where the group is based, who asked the company to support domestic Chinese chips.
The Financial Times reported last month that Tencent signed its largest overseas lease deal, worth an estimated $7 billion, with Oracle. According to the report, the deal would have given Tencent access to about 100,000 advanced AI chips that were not available in China due to curbs from Washington and Beijing, under a five-year lease across multiple Oracle data centers in Southeast Asia.
Oracle, Tencent and the White House did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the report.