On February 27, 2025, Tencent introduced HunYuan Turbo S, a model it says can outperform DeepSeek R1 on response speed by delivering near-instant replies.
The announcement highlights Tencent’s effort to secure a stronger foothold in AI development as more companies seek ways to provide lightning-fast digital assistants.
Bold Claims
According to Tencent, Hunyuan Turbo S is able to reply to queries within a second, distinguishing itself from DeepSeek R1, Hunyuan T1, and other slow thinking models that need to “think” for a while before answering.
This direct comparison signals the company’s intent to stand out in a crowded market, where slow model performance can frustrate enterprise users and developers alike.
DeepSeek has recently advanced its own plans by rushing the launch of R2 through an accelerated development schedule. This decision reflects external competition from OpenAI and other global labs, but Tencent’s new entry into the field might also be a key factor.
DeepSeek itself remains popular, yet the slow generation times in R1 have prompted speculation that R2 may focus on instant responses to maintain user loyalty.
HunYuan Turbo S Benchmark Results
HunYuan Turbo S generally shows top-tier or near-top-tier performance across many test categories while surpassing DeepSeek V3 in multiple areas, especially knowledge, math, and Chinese-language tasks. That Tencent did not include DeepSeek R1 in its benchmark comparison, suggests, it is not outperforming DeepSeek R1, which is built upon DeepSeek’s V3 model.
Though most models in these comparisons are quite close, HunYuan Turbo S often edges out its competitors by a few points:
Knowledge (MMLU, MMLU-pro, GPQA-diamond, SimpleQA, Chinese-SimpleQA)
HunYuan Turbo S leads on MMLU, posting 89.5 (slightly above GPT4o-0806 and DeepSeek V3). It also appears strong in Chinese-SimpleQA (70.8, higher than DeepSeek’s 68.0), but it lags behind some rivals on SimpleQA, where GPT4o outperforms with a higher score.
Reasoning (BBH, DROP, ZebraLogic)
While Claude-3.5 Sonnet-1022 and DeepSeek V3 hit similarly high scores for BBH, HunYuan Turbo S remains competitive at 92.2. It posts 91.5 for DROP—exceeding GPT4o’s 79.8—and shows an advantage on ZebraLogic with 46.0, above DeepSeek’s 38.5.
Math (MATH, AIME2024)
HunYuan Turbo S stands out by reaching 89.7 on MATH, compared to 87.8 for DeepSeek V3. On AIME2024, HunYuan’s 43.3 also outdoes DeepSeek’s 39.2 and similar or lower scores from most other models.
Code (HumanEval, LiveCodeBench)
For coding tasks, it earns 91.0 on HumanEval—just shy of Claude’s 95.0—but stumbles on LiveCodeBench at 32.0, trailing DeepSeek V3 (37.6) and GPT4o (35.1). Claude sits higher in these metrics, suggesting HunYuan might need further improvement for code completion.
Chinese (C-Eval, CMMLU)
These tasks place HunYuan Turbo S near or at the top, showcasing 90.9 on C-Eval and 90.8 on CMMLU. DeepSeek V3’s scores (86.5 and 83.5, respectively) lag behind, and GPT4o-0806 also trails in both categories.
Alignment (LiveBench, ArenaHard, IF-Eval)
HunYuan Turbo S registers 61.0 on LiveBench, topping GPT4o and rivaling Claude, while ArenaHard (88.6) and IF-Eval (88.6) are quite comparable with the best performers. DeepSeek V3’s alignment scores (85.5 for ArenaHard, 86.1 for IF-Eval) are close, but generally lower.
Overall, the data indicates HunYuan Turbo S is neck and neck with GPT4o-0806, Claude-3.5 Sonnet-1022, and Llama3.1-405B on a number of benchmarks and slightly outruns DeepSeek V3 in most categories, especially on math and Chinese-language tests.
Code-related benchmarks remain an exception, where Claude tends to stand out, and HunYuan Turbo S shows potential but doesn’t command the top of the table.
Alibaba’s QwQ-Max in the Mix
Alibaba has already played a part in fueling the speed obsession by unveiling QwQ-Max, a system designed for advanced reasoning that rivals DeepSeek and Tencent. The domestic competitors are converging on a shared priority: letting people interact with AI at high velocity.
While features like coding support or language breadth matter, the wait time before an answer emerges seemingly has become a central selling point.
As large-scale AI reasoning models gain traction, quick responses enhance both user experience and efficiency. Many businesses rely on automated solutions to handle live chats or complex queries.
When a system like HunYuan Turbo S trims seconds off each answer, it can improve workflows at scale. Companies exploring AI solutions pay special attention to these time savings, which may influence the adoption of new models over familiar but slower alternatives.
HunYuan Turbo S is built around faster processing pipelines that reduce latency during complex tasks. Its architecture tries to ensure that even multi-step responses appear without noticeable delay.
Though specifics remain under wraps, experts guess Tencent is refining inference optimizations on high-grade GPU clusters, allowing real-time interactions that push beyond older systems. Many developers see potential in plugging this AI into user-facing software that demands a short wait before output.
DeepSeek still wields influence and has pledged more advanced reasoning for R2, but Tencent’s move may reshape expectations around immediate feedback. Future market battles could hinge on how thoroughly each company balances top-tier accuracy with lightning-fast generation. If DeepSeek R2 commits enough resources to address the speed gap, the two brands might spark another wave of breakthroughs that benefit the industry as a whole.
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Last Updated on March 3, 2025 11:12 am CET
