5th August 2011
Tencent: March of the Penguins
“Tencent is the Internet Goliath you’ve either never heard of or know little about. Yet 674 million Chinese actively use its QQ service, and hundreds of millions more are familiar with its cute cartoon mascot, a winking, scarf-wearing penguin that has helped make Tencent one of the most recognized brands in the country. With 11,400 employees and more than $3 billion in revenue in 2010, it’s become the largest—and, by its competitors, most criticized—Internet company in China. Now Tencent’s ambitions are expanding into the U.S. and elsewhere. Flush with cash, it’s making investments, acquiring startups, and forcing Western companies to consider whether it’s friend or foe. “If you are a Silicon Valley guy and you don’t have Tencent on your radar, you have to be deaf, dumb, and blind,” says Michael J. Moritz, the renowned venture capitalist who backed Google (GOOG) and PayPal (EBAY). “I am full of admiration for the characters at the helm of that company. They are extraordinarily thirsty and aggressive.”
