The Nasdaq-listed company, which was spun off from online search giant Baidu, has sharpened its focus on artificial intelligence, big data analytics and other technologies to improve its efficiency in content production, sourcing and even censorship
While many investors compare iQiyi to US-based Netflix, the head of China’s largest online video-streaming service said it was built to be like The Walt Disney Company, the media and entertainment conglomerate behind Mickey Mouse and the Star Wars franchise.
“Our business model is more like Disney’s than Netflix’s,” said Tim Gong Yu, iQiyi’s founder and chief executive, in a recent interview at the firm’s headquarters in Zhongguancun, a hi-tech zone in Beijing.