Tencent Holdings Limited, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is one of the world’s largest technology conglomerates. Founded in 1998, it is now a leading provider of Internet services, digital content, and AI-driven technology across the world. In 2020, Tencent was listed among the Fortune Global 500 companies, ranked 83rd on the list. This article will focus on the two of Tencent’s most successful products: WeChat and Street Journal.
WeChat: The Dominant Messaging App
WeChat is Tencent’s popular multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment application. Launched in 2011, it has since become the largest social media and messaging app in China, with a user base of over one billion monthly active users (MAUs). It is an indispensable part of Chinese daily life, used for communication, commerce, gaming, and payments. As of 2020, the app had been downloaded over 10 billion times, with total revenues over $9 billion annually.
Street Journal: The Rising Online News Platform
Street Journal is Tencent’s online news platform, launched in 2020. It provides news, commentary and analysis spanning a range of topics including business, finance, stock markets, technology, and sports. It is the de facto news source for many Chinese, and has quickly gathered an audience of around 250 million MAUs. As of 2020, total revenue for the platform stood at $2.59 billion annually.
Conclusion
Tencent’s two biggest products, WeChat and Street Journal, demonstrate the company’s tremendous success in the world of digital communications, media, and commerce. Although WeChat has seen a longer presence on the market and much higher revenues, Street Journal is quickly gaining an audience, and together, the two products have helped propel Tencent to its position as one of the world’s leading technology conglomerates.
