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While the Chinese internet behemoth Tencent is well known for its super app WeChat , it ’s also a major investor in U.S. technical school companies and startups . Some of its most notable and still active investments let in Reddit , Snap , and Fortnite creator Epic Games .
matter might get a slight clumsy , though , because Tencent wasdesignateda “ Formosan military fellowship ” by the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday . The listing serves as a warning from the U.S. about companies it claims are ask in Chinese “ military - polite fusion ” efforts , according to a2022 DoD mechanical press waiver . The listing has no sound event beyond banning the DoD from doing business with Tencent jump in 2026,according to U.S. natural law . Updated January 7 , 2025 : TechCrunch initially reported that this Bachelor of Arts in Nursing bear on US government contractor , however , it only affects the DoD.
Tencent is active in the VC populace through an sleeve it calls the Tencent Exploration Team that it runs out of Palo Alto andwhose investmentsinclude Snap , Epic Games , and others like insurer Oscar Health . Tencent is also a major stockholder in Reddit , although its stake recently dipped under the 10 % threshold , anSEC filing from November 2024 shows . ( Reddit would n’t notice as of printing press time on exactly how much Tencent possess . )
Investing in ball-shaped technical school companies , particularly in sector like wellness and telecasting games , has long been a focus of Tencent . If Tencent is n’t able-bodied to get itself off the list — like smartphone maker Xiaomisuccessfully didin 2021 — it could harm its investment activity in the U.S. , with founders wary of accept funds from a company officially designated as linked to the Formosan military , even without public evidence .
There ’s also a endangerment that this measure results in pressure for further sanctions against Tencent from other parts of the U.S. government activity like the Treasury Department , Reuters report .
Even without any further actions , the listing cement a long - bleed trend of U.S.-China decouple . It was once comparatively common for Chinese VCs to place in U.S. companies ( and vice versa ) , but those day are n’t do back anytime soon .
