It has been confirmed that WeChat-owner Tencent Holdings has helped the Indian messaging service Hike raise 175 million US dollars in funding. Hike, a rival to WhatsApp in India, already boasts 100 million users, but Tencent's success with WeChat and its experience in growing a leading messaging app to act as a “full- service platform”, should prove invaluable. Currently, Hike targets the Indian market with features such as offline messaging to keep data costs down and the ability to communicate through images to break down local language barriers. Tencent said in a statement that the investment was made in order to “understand more about India, which is one of the world's fastest-growing markets in terms of mobile internet users”. The Chinese giant has also confirmed that Hike will be able to work independently, but the two companies will work together in “potential areas of cooperation”.Â
