Who owns WeChat?
WeChat is owned by Tencent (China, HKEX: 0700).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Tencent Holdings Limited - annual report and investments. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Tencent Holdings Limited reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇨🇳 China, Shenzhen
- Origin
- 🇨🇳 China, Guangzhou
- Founded
- 2011
- Category
- Internet & digital › Digital services › Email & messaging
- Parent ticker
- HKEX: 0700
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About WeChat
WeChat combines messaging, payments, government services and mini-applications in one app used by more than a billion people. Its mini-programs mean many Chinese businesses never build a separate app at all, which makes it closer to an operating system than a messenger.
Ownership timeline of WeChat
Where WeChat sits in Tencent
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Tencent ownership tree →
See the full Tencent brand portfolio (5) →
Other brands owned by Tencent
Tencent controls 5 brands on Brandtree, 5 of them in internet & digital.
Also in internet & digital
- Clash of Clans (2012)
- League of Legends (2009)
- Riot Games (2006)
- Supercell (2010)
Other brands in email & messaging, and who owns them
The 18 brands in email & messaging on Brandtree belong to 14 owners. The largest is Snap, with 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Messenger | Meta | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Firefox Relay | Mozilla | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bitmoji | Snap | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Mail.ru Email | VK | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Gmail | Alphabet | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Yahoo Mail | Apollo | 🇺🇸 United States |
| KakaoTalk | Kakao | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| LINE | LY Corporation | 🇯🇵 Japan |
About the owner: Tencent
Tencent is a publicly listed company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, founded in 1998. Brandtree records 5 brands under its control, and it is listed as HKEX: 0700.
Tencent is the largest video game company in the world by revenue, and it owns studios far better known than it is. It also runs WeChat, which combines messaging, payments and services in a way that has no Western equivalent and is close to unavoidable in daily Chinese life.
🇨🇳 WeChat and other Chinese brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 327 brands that began in China. 39 of them (12%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; WeChat is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of WeChat?
The parent company of WeChat is Tencent, a publicly listed company headquartered in China.
Is WeChat Chinese?
Yes. WeChat originated in China in 2011 and its owner, Tencent, is also headquartered in China.
Is WeChat still owned by Tencent?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, WeChat is still owned by Tencent. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Tencent Holdings Limited - annual report and investments — Tencent Holdings Limited, Annual report; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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