Tencent, one of the world’s largest technology companies by market capitalization, owns the WeChat messaging platform.
Tencent launched WeChat in 2011 as a mobile messaging service. It grew into a broad platform offering voice and video calls, social feeds, payments, mini programs, and business services. In mainland China, the service is known as Weixin, while WeChat is the international brand.
Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 by Pony Ma and several co-founders. Its businesses also include online games, digital content, cloud services, advertising, and financial technology. The company’s gaming portfolio has included major investments and publishing relationships around the world.
WeChat is often mistaken for a standalone company because it is such a prominent consumer brand. It is a Tencent product. Tencent is also different from Alibaba: both are major Chinese technology groups, but Alibaba is especially associated with e-commerce and cloud computing, while Tencent is strongly associated with social platforms and gaming.