Tencent invests $50m in Canadian app
Canadian tech start-up Kik receives $50m investment from Tencent – China’s largest internet firm
Lin Songtao, Vice President of Tencent, speaks at a recent conference the company held. It has invested a huge amount of money into Canadian tech start-up Kik
After seeking a strategic partner for some time, messaging app Kik has secured a $50m investment from China’s biggest internet company: Tencent Holdings. The investment values the Ontario-based tech start-up at over $1bn.
Founded in 2009, Kik has become extremely popular with teenage consumers in North America, with over 70 percent of its 200m users aged between 13 and 24. As stated on Kik’s website, 40 percent of teenagers in the US use the service, a feat that has been achieved through its evolving nature and innovative add-ons. As a result of its app-within-app package, which includes gaming and music themed communities, users tend to spend more time than on rival messaging services – according to a recent study carried out by Kik.
Kik still lags behind major competitors, such as Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Snapchat
Yet, despite its impressive growth, Kik still lags behind major competitors, such as Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Snapchat. As such, through the partnership with tech giant Tencent, Kik founder and CEO Ted Livingston is hopeful that the firm can further expand its multi-media services and vastly increase its popularity within the US.
“Today, there are only five other companies in the world that see the future like we do: Tencent, Line, Facebook, Snapchat and Telegram. One of them owns the largest internet market in the world. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them as we run this race,” Livingston said following the announcement, as cited by Tech Crunch.
Up until now, Kik’s largest overseas competitor has been WeChat, an app that also offers users an ecosystem of services in addition to messaging. As WeChat is owned by Tencent, Kik no longer has its sights set on the Chinese market, but the alliance will allow the two firms to collaborate on projects and share data, thereby helping Kik to conquer the North American market.
As well as WeChat, Tencent also owns the messaging app QQ, together with a large portfolio of internet services, such as social networking platforms and online marketplaces. Notwithstanding its dominance of the Chinese space, Tencent recently reported a slowdown in its online gaming business, placing pressure for it to engage more in internet advertising and produce new offerings for its users.
