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Meitu posted a three-fold jump in profit for 2023. Photo: Reuters
TechTech Trends

Chinese selfie app Meitu finds its footing with AI, as profit triples after a raft of failed bets

  • Meitu saw its profits surge 233 per cent year on year in 2023, while revenue grew nearly 30 per cent
  • The Hong Kong-listed company credits a pivot to artificial intelligence for boosting its earnings
Artificial intelligence
Kelly Le
Kelly Le
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Chinese selfie apps giant Meitu on Friday posted a more than three-fold jump in net profit last year, as the company hailed the success of its refocus on artificial intelligence (AI) following a series of misfired bets ranging from cryptocurrencies to smartphones.

The Hong Kong-listed company, which saw its profits surge 233 per cent year on year to 368.3 million yuan (US$51.3 million) and revenue grow nearly 30 per cent, highlighted the role of AI in boosting its earnings.

X-Design, Meitu’s business-facing graphics design platform powered by AI, made over 100 million yuan in revenue in 2023, up nearly 230 per cent from a year earlier, the company said.

In June, Meitu launched its self-developed generative AI model MiracleVision, which powers a range of AI features in the firm’s apps, including facial feature adjustments and virtual make-up. Around 83 per cent of the photos and videos edited by Meitu apps are now enhanced by AI, it said.

02:14

China's biggest selfie app wants to beautify people in real life

China's biggest selfie app wants to beautify people in real life
In September, Meitu joined Chinese social media and video gaming giant Tencent Holdings in backing AI chip start-up Enflame.

“We have struggled in the past few years and it wasn’t easy,” the firm wrote in a social media post on WeChat on Friday, highlighting its earnings results. “We returned to our original aspirations and focused on what we do best.”

“Meitu is an AI company,” it said in its earnings announcement.

Founded in Xiamen city in southeastern Fujian province in 2008, Meitu is best known for its so-called beautifying apps that help users touch up their selfies with built-in functions, such as by enlarging their eyes or removing wrinkles on their forehead.
But the company has also made unsuccessful forays into other sectors, including attempts at selling smartphones designed specifically for selfie enthusiasts and turning its namesake app into a social network.
In a high-profile announcement in March 2021, Meitu said it bought US$40 million worth of bitcoin and ether, citing the belief that “cryptocurrencies have ample room for appreciation in value”. But a market sell-off in 2022 prompted the company to warn investors about widening losses.

The cryptocurrency market largely recovered in 2023. As of December 31 last year, Meitu was holding more than US$111 million worth of ether and bitcoin, according to its earnings report.

The company had around 250 million monthly active users by the end of last year. The number of paying subscribers rose more than 62 per cent to 9.11 million, the firm said.

Meitu said it expects “more generative AI features to be launched in 2024, for both images and video use cases”.

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