Tencent created the WeChat messaging and payments platform.
WeChat, known as Weixin in mainland China, was developed by Tencent and first released in 2011. It grew from a mobile messaging service into a broad “super-app” combining chats, voice and video calls, social feeds, payments, mini-programs, and other services.
Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 by Pony Ma and several co-founders. Its earlier success came from QQ, an instant-messaging service that became one of China’s best-known internet products. WeChat extended Tencent’s reach into smartphones and everyday transactions.
WeChat and Weixin are closely related but are operated within different regulatory and market environments. The service is not the same as Tencent’s gaming business, although Tencent also became one of the world’s largest video-game companies through ownership stakes and in-house development.