China audio platform Ximalaya files for US IPO

The largest shareholders are Jianjun Yu, the company's co-founder, chairman and CEO, and Mingwang Xiong, an independent investor who previously worked for CDH Investments. They own 27.9% between them. Trustbridge Partners and Tencent hold 7.5% and 5.4%, respectively, according to the prospectus. No other investor has more than 5%.

AVCJ Research's records indicate that KPCB China, SIG Asia, Sierra Ventures, WestSummit Capital, China Creation Ventures, Gopher Asset Management, and Whale Capital are among those who have previously backed the company. The prospectus also identifies China Internet Investment Fund, Advantech Capital, and Puhua Capital as investors.

Launched in 2012, Ximalaya had 250 million average monthly active users (MAUs) in the first quarter of 2021. Approximately 40% access the service via mobile apps and the rest through internet-of-things (IoT) devices - such as in-care devices and smart home appliances - and other third-party platforms. The company works with over 60 automakers in China, including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, to provide in-car audio content through pre-installed devices.

The MAUs of Ximalaya's flagship mobile app exceed the combined total for the nine apps that rank immediately below it, according to China Insights Industry Consultancy (CIC). In 2020, mobile app users spent 1.56 trillion minutes listening to Ximalaya content, accounting for about 75% of the total time spent on all online audio platforms in China. The average daily time spent per user on the app was 141 minutes.

On the content side, Ximalaya engaged 5.2 million active content creators in 2020. The total playing time of its content library exceeds 3,900 years. It claims to have exclusive licenses to 71% of China's 100 most popular albums.

The company's paying user ratio improved from 1.8% in 2018 to 13.3% in March 2021. Of those who signed up in 2019, 70% remained paying members a year later. Ximalaya's four major revenue-generating channels are subscriptions (44.6% of total revenue), advertising (23%), live streaming (16.4%), and education services targeting kids under 12 (13%). 

Revenue reached RMB4.05 billion ($626 million) in 2020, up from RMB2.68 billion in 2019. The total for the first three months of 2021 was RMB1.16 billion, up 65.2% year-on-year. The company's net loss narrowed from RMB773 million in 2019 to RMB605 billion in 2020. It was RMB267 million for the first three months of 2021.

In the same space, audio streaming and social networking platform Lizhi listed in the US last year. Its backers include Matrix Partners China and 5Y Capital.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• IPO
• Technology
• China
• Trustbridge
• Tencent
• China Creation Ventures
• TMT
• KPCB China Management
• SIG