 | |
Native name | 快手 |
|---|---|
| Type | Public company |
| 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)[1] |
| Website | kuaishou.com |
Kuaishou (Chinese: 快手; lit. 'quick hand') is a video-sharing mobile app developed by Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co., Ltd, with a particularly strong user base among users outside of China's Tier 1 cities.[2] Outside Mainland China, it has also gained considerable popularity in other markets, topping the Google Play and Apple App Store's "Most Downloaded" lists in eight countries, such as in Brazil. In Pakistan and Indonesia, this app is known as Snack Video.[3] It is often referred to as "Kwai" in overseas markets. Its main competitor is Douyin, which is known as TikTok outside of China.[4]
Kuaishou was founded by Su Hua (宿华) and Cheng Yixiao (程一笑).[5] Prior to co-founding Kuaishou, Su Hua had worked for both Google and Baidu as a software engineer.[6] The company is headquartered in Haidian District, Beijing.[7] Kuaishou's overseas team is led by the former CEO of 99, the biggest Brazilian ride-hailing company, and talent from Google, Facebook, Netflix and TikTok were recruited to lead the company's international expansion.[8]
Kuaishou is a short video social platform for all users to record and share their lives, with the core mission to "Embrace All Lifestyles". Kuaishou topped Google Play and Apple App Store's Most Downloaded lists in eight countries in 2020. In 2021, it had an average of 1 billion monthly average users (MAU), and in August 2021, it reported a quarterly revenue of $2.95 billion, representing a 48.8% year-on-year increase. Kuaishou facilitated more than $59 billion of e-commerce transactions on its platform. Active users on the platform spend an average of more than 100 minutes daily on its main app.
History[edit]
Kuaishou is the first short video platform of China.[9] Kuaishou's predecessor, "GIF Kuaishou", was founded in March 2011. GIF Kuaishou was a mobile app created to make and share GIF pictures. In November 2012, Kuaishou transformed into a short video community, and a platform for users to record and share videos depicting their everyday lives.[citation needed] By 2013, the app had already reached 100 million daily users.[10] By 2019, that figure had surpassed 200 million active daily users.[11]
In March 2017, Kuaishou closed a US$350 million investment round led by Tencent.[10] In January 2018, Forbes estimated the company's valuation to be US$18 billion.[6]
In 2019, the company then announced a partnership with the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, to help it experiment with artificial intelligence in news.[12]
In March 2020, Kuaishou purchased the online video platform AcFun.[citation needed]
In June 2020, the Government of India banned Kwai along with 58 other apps, citing "data and privacy issues".[13] Recent border tensions between India and China might have also played a role in the ban, as there has been an increasingly political "Boycott China" movement in India due to the competitive relations between the two countries in recent years.
In January 2021, Kuaishou announced it was planning an initial public offering that would seek to raise approximately US$5 billion.[14] Kuaishou's stock completed its first day of trading at $300 HKD (US$38.70), surpassing its initial offer price by more than double the amount, and causing its market value to skyrocket to over $1 trillion HKD (US$159 billion).[15][16]
In February 2021, shares of Chinese short video app company Kuaishou jumped 194% at the open on its Hong Kong debut.[17][18] However, Kuaishou has been one of the worst hit by the regulatory crackdown on Chinese internet companies and its share price has shrunk nearly 80% from its highest point since going public.[19] In December 2021, it was announced that Kuaishou will lay off 30% of its staff, mainly for mid-level employees with an annual salary of US$157,000 or more. The reorganization took place to help Kuaishou cut costs and reverse losses.[19]
Popularity[edit]
Compared to Douyin, Kuaishou is relatively more popular with an older public outside of Tier 1 cities. Its initial popularity originated around videos of Chinese rural life.[9][20] Kuaishou also relies more on e-commerce revenue than on advertising revenue compared to its main competitor.[21]
Controversy[edit]
In April 2018, the app was shortly banned from Chinese app stores after CCTV reported on the platform popularizing videos of teenage mothers.[22]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Kuaishou: Key financial figures 2020".
- ^ Synced (2019-08-12). "Tencent-backed Video App Kuaishou Is Turning Chinese Country Folk Into Hollywood Directors". Synced. Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ "Tencent-backed Kwai App ranked Most Popular social short video app". Business Insider. Archived 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. Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ Jing, Meng (June 20, 2019). "Is short-video start-up Kuaishou too 'Zen' for China's internet culture? Its founders think so". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Su Hua". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ "Bloomberg Company Profile: Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co Ltd". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ "Billionaire Who Missed Out on TikTok Is Trying to Beat It". Bloomberg.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ a b "Behind the success of Kuaishou, the biggest social video sharing app in China". Technode. May 17, 2017. Archived 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. Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ^ Li, Jane (September 20, 2019). "China's tech giants are helping the Communist Party's newspaper fine-tune its online voice". Quartz. Archived 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. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ Chiu, Joanne (25 January 2021). "China's Love of TikTok-Style Apps Powers $5 Billion IPO". Wall Street Journal. 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.
- ^ Chiu, Joanne (5 February 2021). "TikTok Rival's Stock More Than Doubles in Hong Kong Debut". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ^ "Kuaishou Shares Jump 194% in Hong Kong Trading Debut". 5 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). Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ a b "Kuaishou reportedly lays off 30% of mid-level staff amid sweeping crackdowns". KrASIA. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
- ^ "From Douyin to Kuaishou: A visual look at China's hottest short video apps". South China Morning Post. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ Chen, Tingyi (2020-02-24). "Why is Kuaishou Better than Douyin for E-commerce Conversion & Social Engagement". WalktheChat. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- ^ Zhong, Raymond (2018-04-06). "China Isn't Happy About Its Newest Internet Stars: Teenage Moms". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-01.