Shanghai tech firms post overseas expansion, AI research results

With outstanding fiscal reports, some Shanghai-based technology platforms have announced expansion results in overseas markets and research achievements in artificial intelligence.

New York-listed FinVolution posted a revenue of 3.07 billion yuan (US$422 million) in the second quarter, a 15.4 percent growth from a year earlier, with net profit of 590 million yuan showing a 1 percent increase.

The online finance platform issues online loans to small firms and individuals, which helps the consumer market recover and upgrade. By June, its cumulative borrower numbers from China and overseas markets reached 28 million.

In the quarter, FinVolution's overseas market revenue hit 503 million yuan, a 112.1 percent growth year on year, making international business a new growth engine.

"While we await the domestic macro environment's recovery, we have been continuously investing in overseas market development," said Li Tiezheng, chief executive of FinVolution.

It was one of the online service platforms, from finance to health care and gaming, involve millions of users and play important roles for consumption recovery and digital economy development.

Another platform is HK-listed Ping An Healthcare and Technology, which posted a net loss of 245 million yuan in the first half that narrowed 47.2 percent from a year ago. The revenue reached 2.22 billion yuan in the period.

By June, the company served 1,198 enterprise clients with 3.9 million employees, compared with 449 clients a year earlier.

In the past 12 months, it developed 45 million paid users to show the value of online health-care services in China, a country with challenges including an aging society and limited hospitals.

The company has developed a ChatGPT-like service Askbob that features an AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment system, especially for complex and rare cases. It now serves 1.4 million doctors nationwide and offers about 270,000 diagnosis suggestions every day.

Shenzhen-listed Giant posted a net profit of 664 million yuan in the first half, a 33 percent growth year on year. Its revenue reached 1.44 billion yuan.

The game firm has "deeply embraced" AIGC or generative AI techs to optimize design and development, cut costs, and improve user experience. The company has built capabilities in AI-assisted art industrialization, customized training of large language models, speech generation and other sectors in various projects.

Giant also targets overseas markets. Its "Super Sus" title has attracted 71 million users in the international market, with a debut in north America coming soon. The "Road of Conquering," which made its global debut during ChinaJoy in Shanghai last month, targets domestic and Western markets.