HONG KONG, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Tencent 0700.HK said its Weixin app's search function is beta testing access to DeepSeek, a major move by the country's dominant messaging app as firms race to link up with China's rising artificial intelligence start-up.

The search function on Weixin, China's largest messaging app, has recently started beta testing access to DeepSeek, a Tencent spokesperson said on Sunday.

(Reporting by Selena Li and Brenda Goh; Editing by Jamie Freed)

((Selena.Li@thomsonreuters.com; +852 39525868;))