Ada wanted to do some business in the bank, and waited for a long time, and finally it was her turn. She stood in front of the bank's business machine and began to click on the gorgeous screen under the guidance of the business staff.
With the click, Ada couldn't help a burst of condescension:
Out of politeness, Ada has internalized what it said, but Congyun Technology, which focuses on AI financial business, can't turn a deaf ear selectively. This AI technology company, founded on 20 15, recently passed the examination in the Science and Technology Innovation Board and became the first AI company. However, under the glory, the "internal troubles and foreign invasion" of Congyun Technology does not seem to disappear with the listing.
Figure/Cloud from Science and Technology Official Micro
Perhaps the road that the cloud takes from technology is the road of the whole industry.
On the artificial intelligence track that is losing temperature at present, Yunyun and its friends want to take their own actions to see who can cross the river by feeling the stones first.
The AI data service industry in China has gone from the barbaric growth period of 20 10 to the standardized development stage now, but it has only been more than ten years. During this period, numerous entrepreneurial companies emerged in the industry that attracted the attention of capital, among which the four AI dragons were the most dazzling: Shang Tang,, and started in turn on this budding track, which was very lively. It is an indisputable fact that the cloud starts from technology at the latest.
The founder of Congyun Technology is Zhou Xi, and he was lucky to learn from Professor Thomas Huang, the father of American computer vision. Zhou Xi has been engaged in technical work in the field of artificial intelligence for many years and has been at the forefront of industry research. However, unlike the conventional thinking of technical experts, he himself has a lot of thinking and practice on the commercial landing of AI.
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In 20 15, Zhou Xi was introduced to China as an expert of "Hundred Talents Program" of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the largest face recognition research team of Chinese Academy of Sciences was established. Most of the members of this team are early employees from the establishment of Cloud Technology 20 15. It is precisely because of the official background and origin of cloud technology that this company has become a high-profile "national team" since its establishment.
Of course, the identity of the "national team" also makes it a lot of convenience in the initial stage of operation, especially in financing. It is understood that in the five financing rounds of nearly 4 billion yuan from Cloud Technology so far, most investors have state-owned background, such as China Guo Xin, Guangzhou Industrial Investment Fund, Guangdong York Financial Group, Shanghai Liansheng Capital, Bohai Industrial Investment Fund and other local government funds and state-owned capital, all of which are "distinguished guests" in the circle of financing friends of founder Zhou Xi.
However, the records also show that the latest financing time from Cloud Technology stayed in May 2020, while the other three of the AI Four Little Dragons, Etu Technology's last round of financing stayed in June 2020, Shangtang Technology's financing stayed in September of 20 18, and technology financing was ignored in May of 20 19.
It is an indisputable fact that the financing progress is slow. It is also during this period that after several years of development and re-cognition, the endless business dilemma of burning money and the helplessness of slow business landing have become two major problems in front of the industry.
That is, based on the above reasons, in the big environment of AI, the four little dragons need to find the source of funds for business development again.
From this point of view, Yun Yun chooses a more active path of listing financing, maintains the benign fundamentals of the company's funds, and can operate more safely and independently even if the industry situation changes from "Britney Spears" to "Mrs Niu".
But is listing really a "rest" node?
At present, the AI industry has collectively entered a cooling-off period, which is known to all.
According to media reports, Yi Tu Science and Technology, as the core competitiveness of providing artificial intelligence solutions among the AI Four Little Dragons, was exposed to news events of salary reduction and mass layoffs in the first half of this year, and the total number of employees has been reduced to about 500. According to relevant insiders, as a medical business department with high hopes from Yi Tuo Science and Technology, only about 30% of its staff are retained at present.
As a peer, Congyun Technology cannot be "spared" at this sensitive stage. According to the certified employees of Cloud Technology, the company laid off 30% employees in the first half of the year, which is another layoff after the last layoff of 30%. In April, Cloud Technology also laid off 20% of its employees and even reduced its salary by 20%.
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Both the industry and the individual have ushered in the pain after the bright spot, and at the same time, it is also the self-help that comes with it.
According to the prospectus of cloud technology, the revenue from 20 18 to 2020 is 484 million yuan, 807 million yuan and 755 million yuan respectively; The net losses were 200 million yuan, 65.438+76.3 million yuan and 720 million yuan respectively. The three-year revenue was 2.046 billion yuan, but the loss was close to 2.7 billion yuan.
Under the pressure of huge losses, it is indeed a symptomatic measure to stop bleeding and hematopoiesis to choose layoffs and go public. However, it is unwise to do things that hurt employees' feelings and destroy their reputation again and again under the aura of the national team.
On the other hand, according to the prospectus, Congyun Technology believes that it may face the risk of being unprofitable in the short term, and the uncompensated losses will continue to expand.
Intriguingly, Congyun Technology still paid a large amount of equity incentive fees in 20 19, and it was confirmed that the share-based payment fee was 654.38+0303 billion yuan, which was included in the management fee, which became one of the main reasons for the loss in that year.
This "please and hurt" management model is contradictory in cloud technology, which also surprises capital and investors.
Of course, all the decisions made by the company come from its own situation and conditions, and cloud technology may have its own operational logic to make such a move. However, as a company with considerable influence in the industry, maintaining a good public image is also one of its important business objectives.
In addition to the image, the "internal strength" from the cloud also needs to be cultivated.
Today, the "journey" of business exploration is still hard to say that the cloud has gone from the aura of the national team above the head of science and technology. Although its financial report shows that from 20 18 to 2020, the company's revenue is 484 million yuan, 807 million yuan and 755 million yuan respectively, but excluding the influence of the epidemic black swan, the trend of revenue growth year by year is more obvious.
However, compared with the financial data with net losses of 200 million yuan, 65.438+76.3 million yuan and 720 million yuan respectively, Congyun Technology is still in the stage of serious "blood transfusion".
Under this financial background, debt reduction has been running through the company's business activities. The asset-liability ratio is 49.03% in 20 18 years, 20.63% in 20 19 years, and 0/8.12% in 2020.
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Financial data is the weather vane of the company's operating cash. From cloud technology has been deeply involved in AI racecourse, and the sub-sectors involved are still mainly public welfare undertakings. Smart finance, smart governance, smart transportation, and smart business have become the four business segments of cloud technology. Relying on the "national team" background, local governments, public security, banks and other functional institutions and departments are all stable customers from cloud technology.
However, judging from the AI landing scene in recent years, except in the fields of finance and security, cloud technology is hardly successful in other business practices. Limited technology and limited scenes abound, and it is difficult to make a breakthrough in the short term.
In addition, the large industry span, lack of industry solution experience and deep integration process have also become obstacles to the commercial landing of cloud technology. Once, huge resources were invested from the cloud to verify and test the application landing for a bank customer. It was not until the seventh test that it was found that the other party had the same qualification requirements for partners. However, since it was established soon, Congyun Technology failed to meet the requirements, so it had to regret to quit.
Most importantly, cloud technology needs to be tested by the market when the policy dividend is "advanced" in advance.
According to reports, in 2020, the global artificial intelligence industry scale will be about 65.438+0565 billion US dollars, an increase of 654.38+02%; Among them, the scale of China's artificial intelligence industry is about 3 10 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 15%. It is estimated that the scale of domestic AI core industry is expected to reach 654.38+057.3 billion yuan in 2022, with a compound growth rate of 58%.
Relying on policy guidance, what cloud technology lacks at present is not the "pursuit" of the market, but the fist products that start the brand. The business homogeneity of AI Four Little Dragons is serious. Who can win the recognition of customers and gain a firm foothold?
From this point of view, the cloud that has experienced rough listing is far from the moment of "tasting" joy. The next step may be to conduct a comprehensive and harsh review of it after losing policy protection.
Cloud comes from technology, and it is difficult to "say" success.