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Tencent’s investment in Chinese video streaming app Kuaishou is likely to give the internet giant a leg up in the red-hot short video entertainment sector. Photo: Reuters

Tencent leads US$350m investment in China video streaming start-up Kuaishou

Tencent

Tencent Holdings, which runs the largest digital entertainment and social network empire in China, has led a US$350 million investment in Chinese video streaming app Kuaishou, a move likely to give the internet giant a leg up in the country’s red-hot short video entertainment sector.

Beijing-based Kuaishou, which can be directly translated as “fast hand”, said in a statement on Thursday that it completed the fund raising round led by Tencent and will use the investment to “keep improving product experience and technology development”.

The start-up is a video platform in the same vein as Instagram or Periscope. But unlike its local rivals, which target college students and office workers, Kuaishou established its fame among China’s rural communities and migrant workers.

The start-up was also backed by China’s online search engine operator Baidu in a multi-million US dollar funding round in March 2016. Media reports said Kuaishou plans an IPO in the US later this year but the company declined to confirm it.

This story has been corrected to reflect the true investment figure of US$350 million, not US$35 million as originally stated

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: tencent invests in kuaishou
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