Tencent (TCEHY -1.10%) is one of the world's leading internet and technology companies. The Chinese company operates some of the most widely used communications tools in the world and publishes some of the most popular video games. Tencent also has cloud computing, advertising, and financial technology businesses, among others. On top of all that, it has a large investment portfolio.
OTC: TCEHY
Key Data Points
More than 1 billion people use Tencent's social media apps each month. They empower users to communicate, share videos, make payments, and shop. However, social media is only part of Tencent's global technology empire.
Here's a closer look at Tencent's massive technology and investment operations. We'll also explore what companies it might seek to acquire in the future. Knowing what Tencent owns and where it might invest next is an important aspect of research when learning how to invest money in a company.
E-commerce
WeBank
In 2014, Tencent and several other companies founded WeBank, China's first digital bank. The company has a 30% stake in the private bank. Tencent works closely with WeBank to offer loans to consumers on its platforms. WeBank is one of the world's largest digital banks, with more than 400 million individual clients as of mid-2025.
Nu Holdings
Tencent initially invested $180 million in Brazilian financial technology company Nu Holdings (NU -0.53%) in 2018. By mid-2025, it owned nearly 150 million shares worth about $2 billion, making it the bank's fifth-largest shareholder, at 4% of its outstanding shares. Nu Holdings has grown into one of the world's largest digital banks, with more than 118 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Nio
Tencent was one of the original investors in Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NIO -4.26%) in 2016. In 2022, the two companies agreed to work together on several areas, including autonomous driving and high-definition mapping. While Tencent has trimmed its stake in Nio over the years, it still ranked as its second-largest shareholder in mid-2025, with a 2.5% stake worth more than $260 million.
Snap
Tencent bought a 12% stake in social media platform Snap (SNAP +2.19%) in 2017 following a steep decline in its share price. In mid-2025, the company was Snap's largest shareholder, owning over 16% of the company, worth more than $2.5 billion. Tencent's investment in Snap is one of many passive investments it has made over the years in U.S. companies as part of its overall investment strategy.
What companies could Tencent buy in the future?
Tencent is an active acquirer, buying companies to enhance its existing businesses. It also has a large investment portfolio. Although it predominantly invests in Asian technology companies, Tencent will also invest in the global fintech, electric vehicle, and social media sectors. So, it could buy a range of companies in the future.
The company has been investing heavily in recent years to buy gaming assets around the world. For example, it acquired a 25% stake in Ubisoft Entertainment's new gaming subsidiary in 2025. It also increased its interest in the parent company of the game maker, FromSoftware, in early 2025 to nearly 8%.
Gaming is a big part of Tencent's strategy, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the company continue investing in gaming companies. One possibility is to buy Dungeons & Dragons from Hasbro (NYSE:HAS). A report in early 2024 suggested it was looking to buy the game from the toy maker through its investment in Larian.
The company has been disappointed in the recent performance of its gaming business. Tencent has launched several new games that didn't perform as well as expected. Meanwhile, its rivals are doing a better job at launching popular games. That could lead Tencent to be a more aggressive investor in the gaming sector, one of its flagship businesses.
Tencent will also likely continue making acquisitions to bolster its other businesses, such as music. For example, the company and its Tencent Music subsidiary bought a 10% stake in Thailand's GMM Music for $70 million in mid-2024.
That deal will help GMM Music expand its business as it seeks to become a standalone company after its spinoff from its parent company, GMM Grammy. Tencent will likely continue investing in music technology companies to grow that business unit. In mid-2025, Tencent Music was in talks to buy China's Ximalaya for $2.4 billion.
Tencent has also been investing heavily in business technologies, like cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain. The company unveiled plans to invest $70 billion into new technology and infrastructure in the coming years. It has made several investments in innovative technology companies, including AI chip start-up Enflame and Zhipu, which aims to take on OpenAI.
The company wants to be a top-tier AI company and launched its Hunyuan AI model in 2023. Its AI investment strategy finally started paying off in early 2025 by driving strong revenue growth, especially for AI-powered ad targeting and creation. Given its increasing focus on AI, it wouldn't be surprising to see Tencent invest in more AI start-ups.
Finally, Tencent will likely continue diversifying its portfolio by investing in new growth sectors. For example, it has invested in more healthcare start-ups in recent years, including Chinese stem cell therapy developer Bioon. Given China's aging population, healthcare will become an important growth sector for the country and likely for Tencent.
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The bottom line on companies Tencent owns
Tencent is one of China's largest technology companies. Its popular Weixen/WeChat super app has turned it into a social media and payments powerhouse. It's also a leading gaming developer.
The company has reinvested the profits from those businesses into many other companies, turning it into a diversified conglomerate and holding company. Tencent will likely continue to acquire and invest in more companies, most likely in the gaming, AI, and healthcare sectors. Its broad focus makes Tencent a potentially compelling stock to buy and hold for those seeking to invest in faster-growing industries with a geographical focus on Asia.
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