Company:Kuaishou

From HandWiki
Short description: Chinese video application company
Kuaishou Snack Video
Native name
快手
TypePublic company; partially state-owned
SEHK: Script error: No such module "Leading zeros".&sc_lang=en Script error: No such module "Leading zeros".
IndustryInternet
FoundedMarch 2011; 13 years ago (2011-03)
FounderSu Hua
Cheng Yixiao
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Key people
Su Hua (CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$ 9.1 billion (2020)[citation needed]
OwnerChina Internet Investment Fund (Cyberspace Administration of China)
Beijing Radio and Television Station
Website{{{1}}}

Kuaishou Technology (Chinese: 快手; literally: 'quick hand') is a Chinese publicly traded partly state-owned holding company based in Haidian District (Beijing), founded in 2011 by Hua Su (宿华)[1] and Cheng Yixiao (程一笑).[2] The company is known for developing a mobile app for sharing users' short videos, a social network, and video special effects editor.

As of 2019, it has a worldwide user base of over 200 million,[3] leading the "Most Downloaded" lists of the Google Play and Apple App Store in eight countries, such as Brazil. In Pakistan and Indonesia, this app is known as Snack Video.[4] It is often referred to as "Kwai" in overseas markets. Its main competitor is Douyin, which is known as TikTok outside China.[5]

Kuaishou's overseas team is led by the former CEO of the application 99, and staff from Google, Facebook, Netflix and TikTok were recruited to lead the company's international expansion.[6]

The China Internet Investment Fund, a state-owned enterprise controlled by the Cyberspace Administration of China, holds a partial ownership stake in Kuaishou.[7]

History

Kuaishou is China's first short video platform.[8] developed in 2011 by engineer Hua Su and Cheng Yixiao. Prior to co-founding Kuaishou, Su Hua had worked for both Google and Baidu as a software engineer.[9] The company is headquartered in Haidian District, Beijing.[10]

Kuaishou's predecessor "GIF Kuaishou" was founded in March 2011. GIF Kuaishou was a mobile app with which users could make and share GIF pictures. In November 2012, Kuaishou became a short video community and a platform with which users could record and share videos.[citation needed] By 2013, the app had reached 100 million daily users.[11] By 2019, it exceeded 200 million active daily users.[12]

In March 2017, Kuaishou closed a US$350 million investment round that was led by Tencent.[11] In January 2018, Forbes estimated the company's valuation to be US$18 billion.[9]

In April 2018, Kuaishou's app was briefly banned from Chinese app stores after China Central Television (CCTV) reported on the platform popularizing videos of teenage mothers.[13]

In 2019, the company announced a partnership with the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, to help it experiment with the use of artificial intelligence in news.[14]

In June 2020, the Government of India banned Kwai along with 58 other apps, citing "data and privacy issues".[15] The 2020 border tensions between India and China might have also played a role in the ban, there having been an increasingly political "Boycott China" movement in India due to the competitive relations between the two countries in recent years.[citation needed]

In January 2021, Kuaishou announced it was planning an initial public offering (IPO) to raise approximately US$5 billion.[16] Kuaishou's stock completed its first day of trading at $300 Hong Kong dollars (HKD) (US$38.70), more than doubling its initial offer price, and causing its market value to rise to over $1 trillion HKD (US$159 billion).[17][18]

In February 2021, shares of Kuaishou rose 194% at the opening on its Hong Kong debut.[19][20] Kuaishou was one of the companies worse-hit by the regulatory restrictions on Chinese internet companies and its share price fell nearly 80% from its highest point since going public.[21] In December 2021, it was announced Kuaishou would lay off 30% of its staff, mainly mid-level employees with an annual salary of US$157,000 or more. The reorganization was done to help Kuaishou cut costs and reverse losses.[21]

In October 2022, state-owned Beijing Radio and Television Station took a minority ownership stake in Kuaishou.[22]

Popularity

Compared to Douyin, Kuaishou is more popular with older users who live outside China's Tier 1 cities. Its initial popularity came from videos of Chinese rural life.[8][23] Kuaishou also relies more on e-commerce revenue than on advertising revenue compared to its main competitor.[24]

See also

  • List of Kuaishou original programming
  • List of content platforms by monthly active users

References

  1. ↑ Synced (2019-08-12). "Tencent-backed Video App Kuaishou Is Turning Chinese Country Folk Into Hollywood Directors Synced". https://syncedreview.com/2019/08/12/tencent-backed-video-app-kuaishou-is-turning-chinese-country-folk-into-hollywood-directors/. 
  2. ↑ "Is short-video start-up Kuaishou too 'Zen' for China's internet culture?". 2019-06-20. https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3015148/short-video-start-kuaishou-too-zen-chinas-internet-culture-its. 
  3. ↑ Synced (2019-08-12). "Tencent-backed Video App Kuaishou Is Turning Chinese Country Folk Into Hollywood Directors". https://syncedreview.com/2019/08/12/tencent-backed-video-app-kuaishou-is-turning-chinese-country-folk-into-hollywood-directors/. 
  4. ↑ "Tencent-backed Kwai App ranked Most Popular social short video app". https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tencent-backed-kwai-app-ranked-most-popular-social-short-video-app-1025560745. 
  5. ↑ "One of China's hottest video apps is flirting with video gaming" (in en). 2018-12-19. https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/2178668/tencent-backed-short-video-app-kuaishou-launches-mini-game-similar. 
  6. ↑ "Billionaire Who Missed Out on TikTok Is Trying to Beat It". Bloomberg.com. 21 July 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-21/billionaire-who-missed-out-on-tiktok-is-now-trying-to-beat-it. 
  7. ↑ "China's communist authorities are tightening their grip on the private sector". The Economist. 2021-11-18. ISSN 0013-0613. https://www.economist.com/business/chinas-communist-authorities-reinvent-state-capitalism/21806311. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Is Kuaishou Still China's Short Video "Platform for the People?"". 2021-01-08. https://radiichina.com/kuaishou/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Su Hua" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/profile/su-hua/. 
  10. ↑ "Bloomberg Company Profile: Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co Ltd". https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1496219D:CH. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Behind the success of Kuaishou, the biggest social video sharing app in China". Technode. May 17, 2017. https://technode.com/2017/05/17/kwai-kuaishou-chinas-biggest-social-video-sharing-app/. 
  12. ↑ "Is short-video start-up Kuaishou too 'Zen' for China's internet culture?". 2019-06-20. https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3015148/short-video-start-kuaishou-too-zen-chinas-internet-culture-its. 
  13. ↑ Zhong, Raymond (2018-04-06). "China Isn't Happy About Its Newest Internet Stars: Teenage Moms" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/technology/china-censor-teen-moms.html. 
  14. ↑ Li, Jane (September 20, 2019). "China's tech giants are helping the Communist Party's newspaper fine-tune its online voice" (in en). https://qz.com/1712688/chinas-tech-giants-work-with-peoples-daily-on-ai-news/. 
  15. ↑ Shrivastava, Rahul (June 29, 2020). "Govt bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok as border tensions simmer in Ladakh" (in en). https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/centre-announces-ban-chinese-apps-privacy-issues-1695265-2020-06-29. 
  16. ↑ Chiu, Joanne (25 January 2021). "China's Love of TikTok-Style Apps Powers $5 Billion IPO". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-video-app-firm-kuaishou-launches-5-4-billion-ipo-in-hong-kong-11611539631. 
  17. ↑ "Kuaishou shares jump 161 per cent in debut as Hong Kong's hottest IPO paves way for offerings from rival video-sharing app owners". South China Morning Post. 5 Feb 2021. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3120627/kuaishou-shares-nearly-triples-trading-debut-hong-kongs. 
  18. ↑ Chiu, Joanne (5 February 2021). "TikTok Rival's Stock More Than Doubles in Hong Kong Debut". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-video-ipo-goes-viral-with-investors-11612435062. 
  19. ↑ "Kuaishou Shares Jump 194% in Hong Kong Trading Debut". 5 February 2021. https://pandaily.com/kuaishou-shares-jump-194-in-hong-kong-trading-debut/. 
  20. ↑ "Análise: Felipe Zmoginski - Rival do TikTok, app de vídeos quer emplacar streaming e comércio ao vivo" (in pt-br). https://www.uol.com.br/tilt/colunas/felipe-zmoginski/2021/02/17/rival-da-tiktok-quer-conquistar-o-brasil-com-streaming-e-comercio-ao-vivo.htm. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Kuaishou reportedly lays off 30% of mid-level staff amid sweeping crackdowns" (in en). 2021-12-07. https://kr-asia.com/kuaishou-reportedly-lays-off-30-of-mid-level-staff-amid-sweeping-crackdowns. 
  22. ↑ "Chinese state broadcaster takes 1 per cent stake in short video app Kuaishou" (in en). 2022-11-07. https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3198731/beijing-broadcasters-1-cent-stake-short-video-app-kuaishou-latest-sign-increasing-state-influence. 
  23. ↑ "From Douyin to Kuaishou: A visual look at China's hottest short video apps" (in en). 2018-09-04. https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3028789/douyin-kuaishou-visual-look-chinas-hottest-short-video-apps. 
  24. ↑ Chen, Tingyi (2020-02-24). "Why is Kuaishou Better than Douyin for E-commerce Conversion & Social Engagement" (in en-US). https://walkthechat.com/why-is-kuaishou-better-than-douyin-for-e-commerce-conversion-social-engagement/. 

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