Cheetah Mobile announces data-driven content strategy along with $50M investment in robotics

NEW DELHI:China-based Cheetah Mobile hosts Cheetah Connect Summit, a mobile industry conference that aims to form an open communication platform for app developers around the world, and revealed two new initiatives: a data-driven content strategy that will start with Toupai, a short video service designed for online influencers and fans, and a new Cheetah Robotics R&D and investment venture.

“Our 2016 strategy is very clear,” said Cheetah Mobile CEO Sheng Fu.

“We’ll use our utility products as the entry point for mobile users, then add content products to build a platform, increasing the engagement of our users. At the same time, we’ll use Cheetah Mobile’s big data analytics to create a strategic high-ground advantage to better serve both our users and advertisers," Fu said.

Cheetah Mobile’s new 3-year plan will capitalize on the global content opportunities that have arisen from the mobile internet. With a foundation of more than 635 million monthly active users, Cheetah Mobile’s big data platform will power new forms of intelligent content discovery.

The first of these is Toupai, a next-generation social video service which helps fans find their top idols, and online celebrities find their #1 fans. Toupai, which you can preview today at http://v.cmcm.com/, will focus first on the Chinese market with an official launch event on May 20th. Toupai is backed by PurpleCow Startup Fund, which will provide entrepreneurship advice to its communities of online influencers.

Alongside Cheetah Mobile’s new content efforts, the company also announced a major investment into the exciting field of robotics. Cheetah Robotics will invest $50 million into deep learning and artificial intelligence R&D. Cheetah Mobile CEO Sheng Fu, who is personally investing in the venture, views the field of robotics as the ultimate evolution of the mobile tools category that Cheetah Mobile leads.

This rapid growth of the mobile internet industry around the world sets the backdrop for Cheetah Connect Summit, taking place on April 27 in Beijing. Providing a top-down view of the mobile app industry, the summit will host more than 1,000 app developers and mobile industry executives, with more than 100 media in attendance, including 20+ overseas media from the United States, India, Korea, and Taiwan. The event includes an impressive speaker roster including “Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind” author Yuval Noah Harari; Oculus VR co-founder and global virtual reality leader Jack McCauley, PurpleCow Startup Fund partner Quanling Zhang, Inke CEO Yousheng Feng, Cheetah Mobile CEO Sheng Fu; and many others.

Also, at the summit, Cheetah Global Lab joined with App Insight to issue the “Global App Development Report,” examining global app industry trends across multiple dimensions, including countries, industries, and publishers. Cheetah Global Lab also combined Cheetah Mobile’s big data insights and editorial recommendations to award the top 50 fastest growing and most innovative apps so far in 2016.

Cheetah Mobile Senior Vice President and Cheetah Global Lab Dean Jie Xiao announced the company’s new App Insight product, “The ‘Global App Development Report’ provides extremely useful guidance for app developers looking to head overseas. For instance, which opportunities are left in developed markets like Japan, Korea, Europe, and the US? How did China’s social video apps grow so quickly? Which types of apps do users from emerging markets like India and Russia use the most? The report answers each of these questions.”

Throughout 2015, Cheetah Mobile made substantial progress in growing its international user base and monetizing its products. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Cheetah Mobile brought in $174.9 million in revenue, growing overseas revenue by over 343%. The company’s monthly active users topped 635 million in the fourth quarter, with over 78% coming from outside of China.

Cheetah Mobile President Ming Xu said, “Setting an example for other mobile companies going overseas, Cheetah Mobile hopes that the Cheetah Connect Summit brings together the leading scholars, entrepreneurs, investors, and global app developers to share our experiences and observations from the global market.”