Tencent Used Anthropic's Claude Code to Fine-Tune Its New AI Model

Here's an awkward twist in the AI arms race: Tencent relied on Anthropic's Claude Code to help evaluate and fine-tune its new Hy3 AI model, according to sources and internal memos obtained by The Information.

Tencent employees used the coding tool to assess and improve Hy3's performance. The model has drawn positive reviews from developers — but it turns out some of that success traces back to a rival's technology.

The revelation highlights a strange dynamic in the AI industry. Chinese tech giants are racing to build competitive models, yet still leaning on American AI tools behind the scenes. Anthropic, the Claude maker backed by billions in funding, likely didn't anticipate its developer tools helping a competitor ship a better product.

For Tencent, the results speak for themselves. For Anthropic, it's a complicated compliment.