Kuaishou
Kuaishou Technology (Chinese: 快手; lit. '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.
Headquarters | |
Native name | 快手 |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public company; partially state-owned |
| SEHK: 1024 | |
| Industry | Internet |
| Founded | March 2011 |
| Founder | Su Hua Cheng Yixiao |
| Headquarters | , China |
Key people | Su Hua (CEO) |
| Revenue | US$ 9.1 billion (2020)[citation needed] |
| Owner | China Internet Investment Fund (Cyberspace Administration of China) Beijing Radio and Television Station |
| Website | www |
| Developer(s) | Kuaishou Technology |
|---|---|
| Operating system | |
| Type | Video sharing |
| License | Proprietary software |
| Website | www |
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 golden share ownership stake in Kuaishou.[7]
History edit
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]
In April 2024, a Financial Times article citing current and former Kuaishou employees revealed that the company has been running an ageist redundancy programme known internally as “Limestone”, culling workers in their mid-30s.[23]
Popularity edit
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][24] Kuaishou also relies more on e-commerce revenue than on advertising revenue compared to its main competitor.[25]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Synced (2019-08-12). "Tencent-backed Video App Kuaishou Is Turning Chinese Country Folk Into Hollywood Directors Synced". syncedreview.com. from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
- ^ "Is short-video start-up Kuaishou too 'Zen' for China's internet culture?". South China Morning Post. 2019-06-20. from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
- ^ Synced (2019-08-12). "Tencent-backed Video App Kuaishou Is Turning Chinese Country Folk Into Hollywood Directors". Synced. from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ "Tencent-backed Kwai App ranked Most Popular social short video app". Business Insider. from the original on 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
- ^ "One of China's hottest video apps is flirting with video gaming". South China Morning Post. 2018-12-19. from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ "Billionaire Who Missed Out on TikTok Is Trying to Beat It". Bloomberg.com. 21 July 2021. from the original on 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ "China's communist authorities are tightening their grip on the private sector". The Economist. 2021-11-18. ISSN 0013-0613. from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ a b "Is Kuaishou Still China's Short Video "Platform for the People?"". RADII Stories from the center of China's youth culture. 2021-01-08. from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ a b "Su Hua". Forbes. from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ "Bloomberg Company Profile: Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co Ltd". Bloomberg. from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Behind the success of Kuaishou, the biggest social video sharing app in China". Technode. May 17, 2017. from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ "Is short-video start-up Kuaishou too 'Zen' for China's internet culture?". South China Morning Post. 2019-06-20. from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ Zhong, Raymond (2018-04-06). "China Isn't Happy About Its Newest Internet Stars: Teenage Moms". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ Li, Jane (September 20, 2019). "China's tech giants are helping the Communist Party's newspaper fine-tune its online voice". Quartz. from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ Shrivastava, Rahul (June 29, 2020). "Govt bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok as border tensions simmer in Ladakh". India Today. from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ Chiu, Joanne (25 January 2021). "China's Love of TikTok-Style Apps Powers $5 Billion IPO". Wall Street Journal. from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "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. from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Chiu, Joanne (5 February 2021). "TikTok Rival's Stock More Than Doubles in Hong Kong Debut". Wall Street Journal. from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ^ "Kuaishou Shares Jump 194% in Hong Kong Trading Debut". 5 February 2021. from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Análise: Felipe Zmoginski - Rival do TikTok, app de vídeos quer emplacar streaming e comércio ao vivo". www.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ a b "Kuaishou reportedly lays off 30% of mid-level staff amid sweeping crackdowns". KrASIA. 2021-12-07. from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
- ^ "Chinese state broadcaster takes 1 per cent stake in short video app Kuaishou". South China Morning Post. 2022-11-07. from the original on 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ Kai, Waluszewski; Olcott, Eleanor (23 April 2024). "China's ageing tech workers hit by 'curse of 35'". Financial Times. from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "From Douyin to Kuaishou: A visual look at China's hottest short video apps". South China Morning Post. 2018-09-04. from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ Chen, Tingyi (2020-02-24). "Why is Kuaishou Better than Douyin for E-commerce Conversion & Social Engagement". WalktheChat. from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
External links edit
- Official website