Tencent launched the messaging app WeChat in 2011 and later became one of Asia’s largest companies by market value.
Tencent released WeChat, known as Weixin in mainland China, in January 2011. The mobile app began as a messaging service and expanded to include voice calls, social features, payments, mini programs, and other digital services.
Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 by Pony Ma, Zhang Zhidong, Xu Cheney, Chen Yidan, and Zeng Liqing. Its early success came from QQ, an instant-messaging service that became widely used in China. The company later built major businesses in online games, social media, advertising, cloud computing, and financial technology.
WeChat is sometimes confused with QQ because both belong to Tencent. QQ predates WeChat, while WeChat was designed for the rapidly expanding smartphone era and became Tencent’s internationally recognizable consumer platform.