Tencent
About Tencent
Tencent is a corporate investor headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and was founded in 1998. This profile does not list named partners or fund vehicles because they could not be confirmed from the sources available.
Lounge deal records show Tencent in AI rounds at several stages. In 2026 these include DeepSeek's Series A of $7B in June, Moonshot AI's Series D of $2B in May, Kling AI's $3B venture round in July, and StepFun's $2.5B venture round in May. The records also list two DeepSeek growth rounds of $11.9B and $15B in October, an undisclosed Moonshot AI growth round in October, and a $500M venture round for Manus, held by Butterfly Effect, in October. Lounge flags the Moonshot AI Series D and both DeepSeek growth rounds as led.
Lounge lists Seed, Series A and Series B as the firm's focus stages. The 2026 rounds in the records include Series D, growth and venture rounds, which sit outside that list. Check sizes are not public, so none are given here.
- DeepSeek: AI company; Series A of $7B (2026-06) and growth rounds of $11.9B and $15B (2026-10), both growth rounds flagged as led
- Moonshot AI: Series D of $2B (2026-05), flagged as led; growth round, size undisclosed (2026-10)
- Kling AI: venture round of $3B (2026-07)
- StepFun: venture round of $2.5B (2026-05)
- Manus (Butterfly Effect): venture round of $500M (2026-10)
Investing activity
Tencent appears in 8 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $41.9B, and led 3 of them. The rounds are mostly Growth, Series A and Series D, with a median round size of $3B and the largest at $15B. The most recent are DeepSeek (Growth, $15B, Oct 2026), Manus (Butterfly Effect) (Venture round, $500M, Oct 2026) and Moonshot AI (Growth, Undisclosed, Oct 2026).
Tencent most often invests alongside IDG Capital, Alibaba, CATL and HSG, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in Frontier AI models, Chinese LLM developer and AI agents.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Tencent
Does Tencent invest in AI startups?
Lounge deal records list Tencent in 2026 AI rounds for DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Kling AI, StepFun and Manus (Butterfly Effect). The records give round sizes and dates for each.
Which stages does Tencent invest in?
Lounge lists Seed, Series A and Series B as the firm's focus stages. The firm's check sizes are not public.
Where is Tencent headquartered and when was it founded?
Tencent is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and was founded in 1998. It invests as a corporate investor.
Does Tencent lead AI rounds?
Lounge flags the Moonshot AI Series D and both DeepSeek growth rounds as led. Check each round's own announcement to confirm the lead investor.
Where can founders find Tencent's public profiles?
The firm's website and LinkedIn page are listed on this profile. No X account was confirmed.
What AI companies has Tencent invested in?
Tencent's AI investments include DeepSeek, Manus (Butterfly Effect), Moonshot AI, Kling AI and StepFun. The 8 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Tencent based?
Tencent is based in Shenzhen, China.
What stage does Tencent invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Tencent has invested at Growth, Series A and Series D, with a median round of $3B. Tencent led 3 of those rounds.
Who does Tencent co-invest with?
Tencent's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are IDG Capital (3 deals), Alibaba (3 deals), CATL (2 deals), HSG (2 deals) and 5Y Capital (2 deals).
How can founders reach Tencent?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Tencent's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Tencent to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.