TIMELINE
TECH GIANTS and the world ’ s largest video game vendor
1998- 1999
2000s
Chinese multinational technology company , Tencent , has grown massively since its founding . Now , it is the world ’ s largest video game vendor as well as one of the most financially valuable companies . It is among the largest social media , venture capital and investment corporations . Tencent ’ s services include social network , music , web portals , e-commerce , mobile games , internet services , payment systems , smartphones and multiplayer online games .»
Founding and early activity
Tencent was founded in November 1998 in Shenzhen , China , by Pony Ma , Zhang Zhidong , Xu Chenye , Chen Yidan and Zeng Liqing . In February 1999 Tencent ’ s messenger product , OICQ was released . Shortly after , it changed the name from OICQ to QQ due to a lawsuit threat .
Growth
Although the company remained unprofitable for the first three years , the conception of their QQ mobile product , its cellular value-added service and licensing of its penguin character meant they started to see profit generation .
By 2008 Tencent had increased its offerings by licensing games . In 2009 they became the largest online game platform in China .
16 September 2021