Tencent owns WeChat, the Chinese messaging and digital-services platform launched in 2011.
Tencent introduced WeChat in 2011 under the Chinese name Weixin. The app began as a mobile messaging service but expanded into voice and video calls, social feeds, payments, mini programs, games, and other services. Outside mainland China, the product is commonly known as WeChat.
Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 by five entrepreneurs, including Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma. Before WeChat, the company became widely known for QQ, an instant-messaging service that helped establish its large user base.
WeChat is sometimes confused with WhatsApp because both are major messaging platforms, but they belong to different companies. Tencent’s business also includes online games, cloud services, advertising, and investments in technology companies. Those varied operations help explain why Tencent is regularly counted among the world’s most valuable publicly traded businesses.