Qualcomm is teaming up with Vivo and Tencent (both Tencent Honor of Kings and the Tencent AI Lab) to bring better gaming experiences to mobile devices. The four parties will collaborate on “Project Imagination,” which will leverage the 4^th Generation Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence Engine to drive on-device AI innovation.

As it relates to gaming, the new partnership will move gaming AI from the cloud to the device, thereby improving the performance of mobile games, including complex Mobile Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games like Honor of Kings. However, the various companies are likely to find other applications for more efficient AI technology.  

“The 5G era will help AI to move from the cloud to the wireless edge and the device,” said Qiang Fu, the Director of Technology at Tencent AI Lab.

Vivo’s recently launched iQOO smartphones are the first to implement Project Imagination tech. Fred Wong, the company’s General Manager of creative innovation, describes the new line of phones as “a technology that can fully tap the potential of hardware and offer professional players and gaming enthusiasts more stable, faster mobile gaming experiences.”

Vivo is also forming SUPEX, a team that will work to build better AI specifically for eSports applications.

Last year, Tencent Honor of Kings made headlines when it was asked to use facial recognition technology to verify the ages of its players. This latest news comes nearly a year after Qualcomm formed an AI Research unit to boost its AI capabilities, and only a month after the company launched a new AI chip designed for audio devices.