Tencent owns WeChat and is one of the world's most valuable technology firms by market capitalization.
Tencent Holdings Limited is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment company founded in Shenzhen in 1998 by Ma Huateng and several co-founders. Its first major product was an instant-messaging service originally called OICQ, later renamed QQ.
WeChat, known as Weixin in mainland China, launched in 2011 and grew into a broad platform for messaging, payments, commerce, gaming, and public services. Tencent also operates major online-gaming businesses and holds investments in companies across the global technology and entertainment sectors.
A common mix-up is confusing Tencent with Alibaba. Alibaba is best known for e-commerce and cloud computing, while Tencent is especially associated with WeChat, QQ, gaming, and digital entertainment. Market capitalization changes daily with share prices, so the exact ranking of large companies can change.