Tencent turned a chat window into a business empire
Weixin and WeChat reach 1.439 billion monthly active accounts. Tencent’s bet is that the same network can keep selling games, move money and give AI a paying audience.
Connie Chan
Connie Chan is a venture capitalist and technology writer who spent 12 years at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), becoming the firm's first-ever internally promoted General Partner in 2018. Known as 'Silicon Valley's China Whisperer,' she made her mark by translating Asian tech trends - super apps, social commerce, livestream shopping - into investment theses before Western founders even knew the terms. Her 2015 WeChat essay won the New York Times Sidney Award and predicted the app-consolidation wave that would reshape mobile over the following decade. She backed Pinterest early, championed Lime before scooters were cool, and holds board seats at Whatnot, KoBold Metals, and Cider. In January 2024, after 12 years at a16z, she stepped back from GP duties to pursue a new Asia-focused venture.