Tencent operates WeChat, the Chinese messaging, social-media, and digital-payments platform.
Tencent launched WeChat in 2011 under the Chinese name Weixin. The service grew from mobile messaging into a broad ecosystem that includes voice and video calls, social feeds, mini-programs, games, commerce, and WeChat Pay. Its combination of communication and everyday services made it one of China's most influential digital platforms.
Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 by Ma Huateng and several co-founders. Before WeChat, its best-known consumer product was QQ, an instant-messaging service that helped establish Tencent as a major internet company. Tencent also became a global games investor and publisher.
WeChat is sometimes mistaken for a Tencent-only messaging app with no other functions, but its mini-program and payment systems are central to its importance. Tencent's market capitalization has fluctuated with technology regulation, gaming rules, and investor sentiment.