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

Name: China's biggest selfie app wants to beautify people in real life
Uploaded: 2024-03-16T10:30:13.000Z
Duration: 2 min 14 s
Description: China's biggest selfie app wants to beautify people in real life

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

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

Kelly Le

Published: 6:30pm, 16 Mar 2024

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.

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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.”