China Mobile to Launch Trillion-Token AI Service With New Computing Network

China Mobile announced it will build a nationwide integrated computing power network and launch a "trillion-token" AI service trial, a direct challenge to the country's technology giants in the high-stakes AI infrastructure market. The move signals the state-owned telecommunications carrier’s ambition to become a central player in providing the foundational power for artificial intelligence applications.

"The company will advance the construction of a nationwide integrated computing power network, providing computing services that are readily accessible and broadly affordable," Chen Zhongyue, Chairman of China Mobile, said at the Mobile Cloud Conference.

The initiative involves building high-speed, all-optical connections between national computing hubs and regional hotspots. Chen added that the company will promote unified management and intelligent scheduling of diverse computing resources to match supply with demand. The plan includes the launch of a "trillion-Token service trial package," suggesting a move into large-scale AI-as-a-service offerings.

This positions China Mobile to capture a significant share of China's booming AI market, creating a major new revenue stream beyond its core telecommunications business. The state-owned enterprise is now set to compete more directly with established cloud and AI players like Alibaba and Tencent for enterprise AI workloads.

The AI Arms Race in China

China Mobile's announcement comes amid a period of intense investment and competition in China's AI sector. Startups are raising vast sums to fund the high cost of training and running large-scale AI models. Moonshot AI, also known as Kimi, is reportedly closing a $2 billion funding round at a $20 billion valuation, with backing from giants like Meituan and Alibaba, according to LatePost.

Other major players are also attracting capital. Zhipu AI and MiniMax are rapidly releasing new models, while DeepSeek is reportedly negotiating funding at a valuation of over $45 billion. This frenzy of investment underscores the massive demand for the exact type of computing power that China Mobile now aims to supply, creating a ready market of potential high-value customers for its new network.

From Telco to AI Powerhouse

The strategic pivot leverages China Mobile's existing strengths in network infrastructure and its vast capital expenditure budget to climb the value chain from providing connectivity to offering intelligence. By building its own integrated computing network, the company can exert greater control over service quality, cost, and security, differentiating itself from rivals who may rely on a patchwork of third-party data centers.

The "trillion-token" service package is particularly noteworthy. Tokens are the basic units of data processed by AI models, and a trillion-token package indicates a service built for industrial-scale AI applications. This suggests China Mobile is targeting not just small developers but large enterprises and even other AI model companies who need immense computational resources for training and inference.

For investors, China Mobile's (00941.HK) deep dive into AI infrastructure represents a significant long-term growth opportunity, albeit one that will require substantial upfront investment. The move could pressure capital expenditures in the near term but opens up a path to new, high-margin revenue streams as demand for AI computing continues to soar. The company's success will depend on its ability to compete on performance and price with the more established cloud divisions of Alibaba and Tencent.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.