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Sogou intends to go to the United States IPO: After the search, open a new story of artificial intelligence
Sogou, the search engine giant, has finally made its move towards an IPO in the U.S., a development that has been rumored for years. According to Sohu's Q2 2017 financial report, which was released yesterday, Sogou, a subsidiary of Sohu, plans to file relevant documents with the SEC. While the exact number of shares and the amount of capital to be raised have yet to be confirmed, Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan has confirmed the news in an internal letter, emphasizing that "search is a fiercely competitive field, but Sogou has achieved阶段性success." Beyond search, the company's new narrative revolves around artificial intelligence.
In the second quarter, Sogou reported revenues of $211 million, marking a 20% year-over-year increase and a 30% rise compared to the previous quarter. Mobile search traffic surged over 50% year-on-year, driving overall search traffic growth by 24%. Sogou accounted for approximately half of Sohu's total revenue, which stood at $461 million, reflecting a 10% year-over-year increase. Wang Xiaochuan highlighted the company's ongoing efforts to innovate technologically and in product development, with a focus on artificial intelligence. For the upcoming quarter, Sogou anticipates revenues between $230 million and $240 million.
Tencent remains Sogou's largest shareholder, holding over 45% of the company's shares. However, due to Sogou's AB stock structure, the majority of voting rights still rest with the former largest shareholder, Sohu.
Looking ahead, Sogou aims to redefine itself through artificial intelligence. Wang Xiaochuan believes that "the transformative force of the future lies in artificial intelligence, with natural language processing being the crown jewel of AI. It’s the most challenging yet valuable aspect of AI, and Sogou was built precisely for this purpose."
Sogou has already showcased its AI capabilities across various products. Language-based AI technologies are integrated into search engines and input methods, enhancing features like question answering, speech recognition, and translation. Sogou's mobile input method has seen 260 million voice input requests. In translation, Sogou secured first place in the Chinese-English translation category at the WMT international academic competition in May. This technology enables full-text Chinese translations of English search results. Additionally, in mobile input methods, users can automatically translate voice and text inputs during chats.
With this transition, Sogou is positioning itself as a leader in AI-driven innovation. As Wang Xiaochuan aptly put it, "We naturally possess the capability to take on this challenge."
This article was written by Southern Reporter Li Bingru and intern Wu Jiaer.