China's Q&A site Zhihu seeking IPO in US
Zhihu, China’s biggest online question-and-answer website, is seeking an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.
Zhihu aims to list on the New York Stock Exchange with the code ZH. The underwriters are Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
The company is expected to raise US$1 billion through the US IPO, according to media reports.
Founded in 2010, Zhihu has 43.1 million content providers and 315 million “answers,” making it one of China’s top social communities besides Weibo and Douyin.
In 2020, revenue reached 1.35 billion yuan (US$210.9 million), a 101.7 percent growth year on year. Gross profit was 758 million yuan, a 142.7 percent growth from the previous year, according to Zhihu, which posted business revenue for the first time.
The revenue came from diversified business such as online advertising, subscriptions, online education and e-commerce.
The company is still in the “initial stage” for monetization of its services. The company’s profitability had been in doubt previously due to a lack of clear income sources.
The company said recently that it had invested “several billion yuan” to boost paid knowledge-sharing services and develop more video contents and income.
