Tencent (TCEHY +1.35%) 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.
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, as well as what companies it might seek to acquire in the future, so you can decide if investing in Tencent is a good choice for you.
What companies does Tencent own?
Tencent is a Chinese technology conglomerate and holding company that owns many companies. It has wholly owned subsidiaries and meaningful stakes in many other companies through its large investment portfolio. Here's a closer look at 10 of its most noteworthy subsidiaries and investments.
Weixin/WeChat
Tencent launched the Weixin/WeChat social media app in 2011. It has evolved into a super app with a range of functions, including messaging, payments (Weixin Pay/WeChat Pay), and other financial services. Weixin and WeChat had more than 1.4 billion monthly active users in mid-2025.
Tencent launched its instant messaging and social media app QQ in 1999. The platform has grown and evolved over the years. Today, QQ offers a variety of services to its users, including online social games, music, shopping, microblogging, movies, and group and voice chat software. In mid-2025, it had more than 530 million mobile device monthly active users.
Tencent Games
In 2003, the company launched Tencent Games, which has grown into one of the world's leading video game publishers. Tencent has acquired several gaming companies, including Riot Games (developer of League of Legends) and Supercell (maker of Clash of Clans).
It also has a large stake in Ubisoft Entertainment (OTC:UBSFT), the European game maker behind the Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy series, and other game makers, like Larian Studios and Remedy Entertainment. It continues to invest heavily in growing its gaming business. For example, in 2024, the company bought two video game units from TikTok owner ByteDance. Meanwhile, it bought a 25% interest in a new gaming subsidiary formed by Ubisoft in 2025.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group
Tencent formed Tencent Music (TME +0.00%) in 2016 when it bought China Music Corporation. It has grown into the leading online music and entertainment platform in China. It operates several popular apps, including QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and WeSing. While Tencent Music is a publicly traded company, Tencent controls its voting rights and remains a majority shareholder.
Epic Games
Tencent made a strategic investment in Epic Games (the developer of Fortnite) in 2012. It holds an estimated 40% stake in the gaming company, which also counts Sony (SONY -1.57%), Disney (DIS -0.63%), and Lego Company owner Kirkbi A/S among its minority shareholders.
Tencent's investment helped Epic fund its growth. In addition to producing popular games, Epic developed the Unreal Engine, a leading game engine technology used by many gaming studios worldwide, including Tencent.
Sea Limited
Tencent is the largest shareholder of Singapore-based consumer internet company Sea Limited (SE +0.94%). As of mid-2025, it owned less than 20% of the e-commerce company's outstanding shares (and less than 10% of its voting power). While Tencent trimmed its stake in Sea in 2022 (it sold about 2.5% of its shares worth $3 billion), it plans to retain most of its remaining shares to participate in Sea's long-term success and continue their existing business relationship.
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 +2.04%) 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 +0.76%) 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 -1.32%) 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?
While Tencent primarily targets Asian technology companies, it also invests globally across gaming, fintech, electric vehicles, AI, and digital media, giving it a wide range of potential acquisition targets.
Gaming remains a top priority. Tencent has increased its ownership stakes in several game developers, including a 25% stake in Ubisoft’s new gaming subsidiary in 2025 and a larger position in FromSoftware’s parent company. Given recent underperformance in some of its own game launches, Tencent could become more aggressive in acquiring proven gaming IP or studios. One rumored target has been Dungeons & Dragons, owned by Hasbro (NYSE:HAS), through Tencent-backed developer Larian.
Beyond gaming, Tencent continues to expand its music and media footprint. In 2024, Tencent and Tencent Music acquired a 10% stake in Thailand’s GMM Music, and in 2025 Tencent Music reportedly explored acquiring Chinese audio platform Ximalaya. Additional investments in music and content platforms would be a natural extension of this strategy.
Tencent is also pouring capital into business technology. The company has committed roughly $70 billion to cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, backing AI startups such as Enflame and Zhipu. As it builds out its Hunyuan AI model and monetizes AI-powered advertising tools, further investments in AI startups are likely.
Finally, Tencent has been steadily diversifying into new sectors, including healthcare. Investments in companies like stem cell therapy developer Bioon suggest healthcare could become a longer-term growth pillar, especially as China’s population ages.
The bottom line
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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FAQ
Companies Tencent owns: FAQ
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