By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 8th, 2024
As a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, Tencent is spreading its tentacles to a number of emerging technologies to boost its role as a pioneer in the Chinese internet ecosystem.
Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company Tencent Holding Ltd (HKG: 0700) is billed to join a host of other investors to back Previse, a United Kingdom financial technology firm in its Series B funding round. As Sky News reported, the size of the round is pegged at about £10 million and it is billed to give Previse a £65 million valuation on a pre-money basis.
The Tencent backing as learned by Sky News is billed to be exercised through an arm of the Chinese tech giant, and Previse will come as the latest British firm that is being bankrolled by the Shenzhen-headquartered company. Some of the startups that Tencent has funded in the past include Monzo, a digital bank and lending outfit which raised $100 million in a ‘top-up’ in December at a $4.5 billion valuation.
Tencent also has a stake in Bristol-based firm Ultraleap, which uses ultrasound to simulate touch. The diversification of the Chinese multinational into the UK fintech scene models a similar approach by the likes of Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA), Hambro Perks, and listed fintech investor Augmentum Fintech PLC (LON: AUGM).
Previse is a business finance startup that was founded by the trio of Paul Christensen, Giulio Rossi, and Philipp Schoenbucher. The company’s primary goal is to help businesses optimize their growth through a set of Artificial Intelligence-powered data insights. As the brain behind the startup, Christensen has often criticized the financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom for making the processes of accessing funding very ‘clunky’ and outdated.
“The models and procedures used by banks haven’t changed for decades,” he said. “This is the age of embedded finance – finance should be integrated into basic business processes.”
As reported by City AM, the techpreneur called on the British government to “put its money where its mouth is” and create tech-led solutions for firms to access capital in order for Britain to cement its status as a global tech hub.
Tencent Diversifying its Investment Beyond Previse
As a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, Tencent is spreading its tentacles to a number of emerging technologies to boost its role as a pioneer in the Chinese internet ecosystem. While it co-dominates the Web2.0 scene in the Asian nation alongside Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA), Tencent seeks to also champion a dive into the emerging Web3.0 ecosystem.
The company is heavily investing in Web3.0 protocols most notable of which is E-Sports startup VSPN and blockchain startup Everledger. Besides these direct investments by the Chinese tech giant, it is also filing a number of Non-Fungible Token (NFT), and metaverse-related patents and trademarks in hopes of assuming a very dominant role should the country’s regulators choose to permit the Web3.0 ecosystem to thrive in the near future.