Table of Contents
Tencent
Active Users
In China, Tencent is the undisputed leader in mobile. It has over 1 billion active mobile app users across all of its apps.1)
Alibaba
Alibaba is in second place with 188 million MAUs. “We also invested heavily,” said Alibaba founder Jack Ma, “but we are not that lucky and not as innovative as Tencent, which has WeChat, such a powerful thing”. 2)
Tencent's WeChat is the most popular smartphone app in China and the third largest mobile app in the world, after Facebook and WhatsApp, with 438 million monthly active users. 3)
Success In China
Tencent had the highest downloads and revenue in China's iOS App store throughout the first seven months of 2014. 4)
Earnings From Gaming
Online gaming currently accounts for 32% of Tencent's income. Last quarter's gaming revenue was $135.3 billion. 5)
Foundation
Tencent was founded in November 1998. 6)
OICQ
Tencent's OICQ (later QQ) was a clone of ICQ, which AOL purchased from Mirabilis, an Israeli firm. 7)
Data In Internet Cafes
Tencent saw that this would not work in China, where there were many Internet cafes, so it stored the data on the server. ICQ stored all of its user data and buddy lists in the browser; Tencent saw that this would not work in China, where there were many Internet cafes, so it stored the data on the server. 8)
First Revenues
Tencent's first cash came from licensing its designs to the same Guangzhou design business that generated them when it had no revenues. 9)
Red Envelope Campaign
WeChat immediately connected to more than 200 million bank accounts when it started its red envelope campaign on Chinese New Year in 2014. Alibaba's digital Pearl Harbor strike, according to Jack Ma. 10)
Largest Gaming Publisher
Tencent is the largest gaming publisher in the world. 11)
Universal Music
Tencent recently finalized a deal in which it acquired a 10% share in Universal Music. Major artists on the label's roster include Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar. 12)
Tencent Pictures
Tencent Pictures, the company's film and production arm, has worked on a variety of Hollywood films, including Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), Wonder Woman (2017), and the impending Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. 13)
Tesla
This Chinese giant owns 5% of the US electric car firm Tesla. 14)