Tencent Investment in Soso Totals RMB 400-500 Mln
DoNews, 4/06/10
Jeff Xiong, Co-CTO at Chinese internet company Tencent (0700.HK), recently revealed that Tencent has invested a total of RMB 400-500 mln in its Soso search engine since its launch in March 2006. Xiong added that the name Soso (literally "Search Search" in Chinese) is also an acronym for "Scenario Semantic Oriented." Soso was powered by Google search until September 1, 2009, when its self-developed web search engine came online. In November 2009, Soso switched from Google's search advertising system to its own advertising platform, and in February 2010, Tencent's mobile platform replaced Google search with its own service. Xiong predicted that Soso will reach advertising partners in the hundreds of thousands within the next two to three years.
Xiong said Tencent's search business already has nearly 500 employees, many of whom are product technology staff, and plans to grow to over 1,000 staff within two to three years. Xiong added that going forward, Soso will focus on developing "individualized, socialized, intelligent and mobile" search, utilizing the content resources of Tencent's various products.
Tencent search platform deputy GM Li Jing disclosed that a considerable investment has been made in Tencent's map search product, which will be released in due time.
Keywords: mobile search Li Jing Jeff Xiong Internet Soso Tencent 0700.HK HR online search online mapping
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