Tencent

Pony Ma's Tencent may 14, 2026 — Chair and CEO of Tencent Holdings Ma Huateng ( Pony Ma ): We started 2026 by making significant initial progress on our new AI products, a leader .

Pony Ma — founder profiled in the Chinese Founder Ledger — is documented as follows: shenzhen University computer-science graduate who co-founded Tencent in 1998 with four classmates, launched the OICQ messaging service that became QQ, and continues to lead the company as chairman and CEO of the Shenzhen-based technology, gaming, entertainment and financial-services conglomerate. The profile is grounded in the 2 sources indexed for this founder.

Pony Ma's role is documented as: co-founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer, Tencent Confirmed as Chairman of the Board and CEO per Tencent's own company team page (research date: 2026-08-23).

Inspired by the Israeli-developed ICQ instant-messaging service, Ma's team launched OICQ (Open ICQ) in February 1999 with a Chinese interface, which gained over a million registered users by the end of that year and later became QQ.

Pony Ma's Tencent huateng, founder and CEO of Tencent Holdings . including joining the stampede to launch ChatGPT-like products.

Pony Ma's Tencent pony has been leading the strategic development, overall direction, and management of Tencent.

In 2007, under Chen's leadership, Tencent launched the Tencent Charity Foundation, described by the Yidan Prize Foundation as the first charity foundation in China's internet industry.

Pony Ma's Tencent also known as Pony Ma, is the chairman and CEO of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings .

Ma has been named one of the world's most influential people by Time (2007, 2014, 2018) and one of the world's most powerful people by Forbes (2015), and served as a delegate to both the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and the 12th National People's Congress.

Tencent grew into a major technology, gaming, entertainment, and financial-services conglomerate; as of November 2025 Forbes estimated Ma's net worth at $63 billion, per Wikipedia's citation, and Ma continues to serve as Tencent's chairman and CEO.

Chen Yidan was born in Huizhou, Guangdong, grew up in Shenzhen, and earned a bachelor's in applied chemistry from Shenzhen University (1993), a master's in economic law from Nanjing University (1996), and a Doctor of Business Administration from Singapore Management University (2019).

In 1998, Chen co-founded Tencent alongside Ma Huateng, Zhang Zhidong, Xu Chenye, and Zeng Liqing, serving as the company's Chief Administrative Officer.

Chen stepped down as Tencent's CAO in March 2013 to found the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation, continuing involvement with Tencent as an advisor, sponsor, and honorary chairman of the Tencent Charity Foundation, and later as Lifetime Honorary Consultant.

Chen co-founded Wuhan College in 2009 as a pioneer of non-profit private universities in China, donating RMB 20 million in 2015 to support the college's library construction and reading-material purchases.

In May 2016, Chen founded the Yidan Prize, funded by an independent trust of HK$2.5 billion (US$320 million), to recognize innovators who have made significant contributions to education; in 2018, he donated his Tencent shares to set up a charitable trust further supporting education development.

He is described by the Yidan Prize Foundation as the 'Father of Internet Philanthropy' and ranked top of the 13th China Charity Ranking in 2016 and as China's top philanthropist on the 2017 Forbes China Philanthropist list.

Co-founded Tencent in 1998 and served as Chief Administrative Officer, later launching the Tencent Charity Foundation in 2007.

Stepped down as Tencent CAO in March 2013 to dedicate himself full-time to philanthropy, founding the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation and later the Yidan Prize (2016).

Chen established Wuhan College, the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation, and the HK$2.5 billion Yidan Prize, and was recognized as China's top philanthropist in national rankings, while retaining honorary ties to Tencent's charity arm.