On April 12, Himalaya was hitting the IPO for the fourth time. According to the official website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Himalaya submitted a prospectus for the fourth time, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and CICC as joint sponsors.
Although many attempts to go public have failed, the continuous growth of Himalaya is remarkable. After a year of adjustment and preparation, Himalaya has once again hit the IPO, marking their tenacity and determination in the audio field.
Company Overview
Founded by Yu Jianjun and Chen Yuxin (Chen Xiaoyu), Himalaya became one of the largest online audio platforms in China. The company has more than 2.9 million content creators, 300 million monthly active users, and annual revenue of more than 6 billion yuan, and has achieved profitability for two consecutive years, both amounting to more than 3.6 billion yuan. This achievement is due to its deep investment in content and diversified business model.
Himalaya has successfully attracted many investors, including Tencent, SIG Haina Asia, Kleiner Perkins, Sierra Ventures, Thrive Investment, Trustbridge Capital, China Literature Group, Xiaomi, Good Future, etc., raising nearly 10 billion yuan in total, and its valuation has soared 1,200 times in eight years to US$4.345 billion.
Entrepreneurial history
Yu Jianjun is a serial entrepreneur who began his entrepreneurial journey during his master's degree at Xi'an Jiaotong University. At that time, he worked with his classmates to develop a software based on modeling, and although it ended in failure, it made him realize the joy of starting a business. In 2001, he founded Jietu Software in Shanghai, and in 2004 he sold his stake to find a new entrepreneurial direction.
In the years that followed, Mr. Yu attempted nearly 10 ventures, including the Street View map project of City Bar, which he sold to Baidu, and co-founded the virtual world of Thereworld with Mr. Chen. Although these projects were ultimately unsuccessful, the two did not give up and began to explore new directions.
Sensing the potential of the mobile Internet, they believed that sound could better convey emotions and knowledge, so they decided to take "mobile audio" as a new entrepreneurial direction. In 2012, Himalaya was established in Shanghai, and the following year it launched the Himalaya FM client, covering a variety of categories such as audio novels, music, training lectures, etc. By the end of 2014, the number of users of Himalaya exceeded 100 million, and more than four years later, the number of users exceeded 600 million.
Content strategy and business model
Himalaya's success is largely due to its emphasis on content. Yu Jianjun believes that the key to the competition of audio platforms lies in the barriers of content, "to be a content platform, in essence, you need to give users good content and attract more people to the platform to create good content." In order to build this barrier, Ximalaya has continuously improved the content ecology of "PGC+PUGC+UGC", and has in-depth cooperation with many well-known writers, actors and publishers. In addition, they also explored the business model of knowledge payment, cooperated with Ma Dong, the founder of Miwei Media, to launch the paid content program "Speak Well", and held the industry's first knowledge festival in 2016.
Himalaya is also innovating in the process of development, launching Xiaoya AI smart speakers since 2017, and cooperating with a number of car manufacturers to provide support for in-car audio content. With the rise of podcasts and AIGC, Ximalaya has developed audio AI models and launched a one-stop AI-powered production tool called "Sonic Scissors" to help creators produce audio content conveniently.
Challenges and opportunities
Despite the great success of Himalaya in the audio field, they also faced challenges from their competitors. For example, the rise of Tomato Listening as an online audiobook app may affect Himalaya's dominance in the market. Although Tomato focuses on the free model, its boutique IP is few, and the advertising revenue model is relatively simple.
In addition, Himalaya's user base is relatively diverse, but it still needs to strengthen its share of young users. Ximalaya currently accounts for 35% of users under the age of 30, and more efforts are needed to attract younger users.
One of Himalaya's successful bets is its support for content creators. Creators in the audio field are emerging, and their activity and income increase will determine whether Himalaya can stand firm in the long term.
epilogue
The audio field is a "slow business", and Himalaya has been exploring and innovating for more than a decade, establishing a strong content ecosystem and business model. Despite the challenges they face from competition and market changes, Himalaya's continued profitability and steady growth show that they are poised to continue to lead in this area.
Competition in the audio space is fierce, and Himalaya needs to continue to innovate and work hard to consolidate its leading position. They need to continue to focus on their user base, content creators, and business models to stay ahead of the curve in the audio market of the future. The audio business requires a long-term vision and sustained efforts, and Himalaya has achieved remarkable success on this path, but there is still room for further development in the future.