Google announces new patent deal with Tencent

US technology giant Google has announced a new patent licensing deal with Chinese investment conglomerate Tencent Holdings.

The two firms will now share patents across a range of products and technologies, creating an innovative alliance between two of the world’s biggest companies.

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“By working together on agreements such as this, tech companies can focus on building better products and services for their users,” said Mike Lee, Head of Patents at Google.

Tencent is more widely known for its forays in the social media and gaming markets, owning firms such as WeChat – China’s top social media and digital payments platform, something that will compliment Google’s own portfolio in such an initiative.

Google has previously signed similar deals with the likes of Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Cisco Systems. However, this is the first of its kind that Google has secured with a Chinese company.

Although the US firm still has the majority of its services blocked in China, this agreement will lay out significant groundwork, paving the way for Google to expand more readily into one of the world’s largest tech markets.