China’s Tencent has launched the Southeast Asia Regional competition of the 5th Weixin Mini Program Global Innovation Challenge in Singapore, introducing an AI agent theme and a dedicated track for university applications for the first time
In a statement on Wednesday, the Weixin Mini Program said the competition is open to youth participants from Malaysia, Thailand, and other countries in the region.
The Southeast Asia Regional competition was launched by the Tencent Asia Pacific Management Committee, Singapore’s Association for Research on AI in Learning and Leadership (ARAILL), the Global AI Nexus of Schools (GAINS), and Weixin. Students will use Tencent AI tools including WorkBuddy, ima, and the Weixin Mini Game platform to develop Mini Programs aimed at solving real-world problems.
The Weixin Mini Program Global Innovation Challenge as an annual event starting in 2022 has attracted more than 7,000 youth teams worldwide. The Weixin Mini Program Education Platform, which supports the competition, has reached nearly 8,000 schools and 87,000 students across 11 countries and regions, hosting more than 287,000 Mini Programs.
At the 4th Grand Finals held in Shenzhen in May 2026, two Singapore teams won honors across the top two prize categories and the Most Valuable Cultural Connection award. Bukit Panjang Government High School was recognized as Singapore’s first Weixin Mini Program AI Education Innovation Base. The school will integrate the Weixin Mini Program Education Platform into its lower secondary curriculum as part of interdisciplinary project-based learning.
Weixin Mini Program services are available in more than 100 countries and regions, with cross-border and overseas users accessing Mini Programs more than five billion times in 2025. In Southeast Asia, Weixin Mini Programs cover nine markets including Singapore and Malaysia, with monthly transaction volume up 160 percent year on year as of June 2026.
Tencent’s AI tools introduced to international markets include ima, an AI knowledge assistant with 13 million monthly active users, more than 420 million knowledge-base files, and availability across nine platforms; WorkBuddy, an AI productivity agent that integrates with WeChat, Slack, Telegram, Discord, GitHub, and Google Drive; Miora, an AI creative studio; and TokenHub, a model-as-a-service platform.
Zoe Chou, Founder of the Weixin Mini Program Global Innovation Challenge, said the competition is intended as a platform to empower students to use AI tools to address real-world challenges, and that Tencent plans to provide teacher training and AI tools to support young developers across the region.
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