(Yicai) Sept. 30 -- Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies has given Richard Yu, one of its top executives, another leading position, which will allow him to take charge of the company’s artificial intelligence strategy, according to an internal letter.

Yu was appointed director of Huawei’s Investment Review Board yesterday, Yicai learned from an internal document signed by Ren Zhengfei, the Shenzhen-based company’s founder and chief executive officer.

Yu will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of the Consumer Business Group and chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, the internal letter showed.

The Investment Review Board is Huawei’s highest decision-making body for product investment. It is responsible for determining the company’s research and development budget, approving major projects, allocating resources, and ensuring that resources are efficiently allocated toward strategic objectives.

By appointing Yu as head of the Investment Review Board, Huawei is shifting its AI strategy to commercialization-driven from technology-driven, an insider said. Technological exploration without short-term commercial prospects may face stricter scrutiny now, they added.

Huawei’s presence in the AI industry still appears insufficient compared to the rapid iterations by international tech giants, despite the firm launching the Pangu AI model series about two years ago.

Media reports claimed last month that Zhang Ping’an, executive director and CEO of the Huawei Cloud Computing BU, had announced a major internal restructuring plan to concentrate all of the company’s resources on AI by cutting and merging dozens of departments, aiming to become profitable by the end of the year.

Huawei Cloud’s revenue rose 8.5 percent to CNY38.5 billion (USD5.4 billion) last year from the year before, but the business unit has yet to turn a profit.

Editor: Futura Costaglione