Tencent invests in Chinese A.I. chip start-up as part of $279 million funding round

A close up image of a CPU socket and motherboard laying on the table. Narumon Bowonkitwanchai | Moment | Getty Images GUANGZHOU, China — Tencent has pumped more money into a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chip start-up as the technology giant bets on the growing domestic industry for semiconductors. It comes as Beijing pushes for more self-reliance in semiconductors amid rivalries between the U.S. and China that have spilt into the technology front. Tencent together with a number of investors including CITIC, CICC Capital and Primavera invested 1.8 billion yuan…