Tencent is the Chinese technology company among the world's largest by market cap that was founded in 1998 by Ma Huateng.
Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, founded Tencent with several partners in Shenzhen. The company first became widely known for instant messaging through its QQ service, which grew into one of China's major online communication platforms.
Tencent later expanded into social networking, online games, digital payments, cloud services, music, and entertainment. WeChat, launched in 2011, became a major mobile communications and services platform in China.
Tencent is often confused with Alibaba because both are major Chinese technology companies. Alibaba is strongly associated with e-commerce, while Tencent is especially associated with social platforms and gaming. Tencent's corporate name is Tencent Holdings Limited, and it trades in Hong Kong.