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Tencent's Startup Investment Frenzy Now Reaches Outer Space
- Drones on the moon, satellite images and asteroid-mining
- Thinking outside the box and maybe alter life on planet Earth
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Tencent Holdings Ltd. is best known for super-app WeChat and its relentless pace of startup investment. Now the Chinese social media giant is looking beyond Earth-bound opportunities.
China’s largest corporation has invested in Moon Express, a startup that aims to put drones on the lunar body; Argentina’s Satellogic, which specializes in satellite imagery; and Planetary Resources, which is looking into asteroid-mining. They’re an unusual trio of investments for a company that typically seeks out terrestrial entertainment content and up-and-coming technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality.