For Tencent Holdings, one of the world’s largest internet companies by market value, its widely used messaging platform is WeChat.
Tencent launched WeChat in 2011 under the Chinese name Weixin. It began as a mobile messaging service but grew into a broad platform combining chats, voice and video calls, social posting, payments, mini-programs, and other services. Outside mainland China, the product is generally known as WeChat.
WeChat is especially significant because it combines functions that are often spread across several separate apps in other markets. Users can send messages, follow public accounts, make payments, call taxis, access government services, and use lightweight applications within the platform.
Tencent’s name is sometimes associated only with video games, since the company owns major gaming businesses and investments. However, communications and digital services are central parts of its operations. WeChat should also not be confused with QQ, Tencent’s older instant-messaging service, which remains a separate product with a different history and user base.