Sogou started as the search division of Sohu. Sohu, a Chinese internet company, created the project as it expanded beyond its original web-portal business and into search technology.
The search engine launched on August 3, 2004, after Sohu hired Tsinghua University graduate Wang Xiaochuan to build it. Wang led a small team of students from nearby Tsinghua University, helping Sogou develop a strong connection with the university’s engineering community.
Sogou later became a separate company rather than remaining merely a division inside Sohu. Its products expanded beyond web search: the company launched Sogou Pinyin in 2006, a widely used Chinese input method, and later added a browser and other artificial-intelligence services.
The other options are major Chinese or international technology companies, but they did not originate Sogou. Tencent eventually acquired Sogou in 2021, so Sohu is the correct answer for the company’s origin, not its later parent.