Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• 36Kr Holdings Inc. is undergoing a significant transformation, leveraging AI integration and rigorous cost optimization to drive towards profitability, evidenced by a 95% year-over-year reduction in net loss in the first half of 2025.
• The company's strategic focus on AI-powered products and services, including AI Media Coverage and 36Kr Corporate Omni-Intelligence, is enhancing content production efficiency, expanding customer outreach, and generating new revenue streams.
• Despite recent revenue declines in some segments due to macroeconomic headwinds and strategic portfolio optimization, 36Kr maintains a strong content ecosystem and a growing follower base, reaching 36.57 million by June 2025.
• A key growth initiative is the strategic expansion into global markets and industrial services, supporting Chinese enterprises' international ventures and fostering collaborations with government entities.
• Management remains optimistic about achieving break-even by the end of 2025, prioritizing "profitable growth" through content enhancement, AI product commercialization, and scaling industrial services.

China's New Economy Catalyst: 36Kr's Evolving Role

36Kr Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:KRKR) stands as a prominent brand and pioneering platform dedicated to serving participants in China's dynamic New Economy. Founded in Beijing in 2010, the company has evolved from a content provider into a comprehensive service platform, offering a diverse array of content and business services. Its core mission revolves around empowering New Economy participants, covering industries such as technology, consumer, retail, healthcare, media, entertainment, and enterprise services. This strategic focus positions 36Kr within a competitive landscape of digital content and business services, where it differentiates itself through specialized insights and a targeted approach to a high-growth segment of the Chinese economy.

The company's historical journey underscores a consistent drive for growth and adaptation. Since the second quarter of 2021, 36Kr has demonstrated sustained expansion in its follower base, achieving 17 consecutive quarters of growth to reach over 36.57 million followers by June 2025. This expanding audience is a testament to its robust content ecosystem and broad distribution network, encompassing self-operated platforms and major third-party channels. The broader industry is currently experiencing a transformative shift driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and automation. These technologies are reshaping content production, driving efficiency, and enabling businesses to scale, creating both opportunities and competitive pressures for players like 36Kr.

Technological Edge: AI as the Core Differentiator

At the heart of 36Kr's strategic evolution is its profound commitment to artificial intelligence, which serves as a critical technological differentiator and a powerful engine for efficiency and new product development. The company has deeply integrated AIGC (AI-Generated Content) technology throughout its content ecosystem, pioneering the use of large language models to optimize content production and commercialization efficiency. This integration translates into tangible benefits, significantly improving the speed and cost-effectiveness of content creation, from information identification and text processing to image generation and script editing.

36Kr has launched a suite of AI-powered tools that offer specific, quantifiable advantages. Its "AI Media Coverage" tool has already generated 993 AI-driven reports, demonstrating a substantial increase in analytical output and coverage capacity. The "36Kr Corporate Omni-Intelligence" service, launched in October 2024, targets stock market investors by providing daily sentiment analysis reports for over 7,800 public companies listed in mainland China and Hong Kong. This service has engaged 25,000 users and garnered over 3,000 subscriptions for its daily reports, showcasing its ability to deliver personalized, data-driven insights at scale. Other AI-powered offerings include AI text-to-image, AI Bab, and AI financial report interpretation, which enhance the precision and purview of customer outreach initiatives, connecting with a diverse spectrum of enterprises previously beyond reach due to resource-intensive workloads.

The company's R&D initiatives are focused on continuous AI advancement. In February 2025, 36Kr integrated DeepSeek into its AI meeting coverage, further enhancing the sophistication of its AI models. The "2025 AI Partner Conference," held in April, underscored 36Kr's dedication to fostering AI innovation, bringing together industry leaders and academics to explore cutting-edge developments and "AI Super Apps." Looking ahead, 36Kr plans to roll out a user review and discovery platform for AI tools in the second half of 2025, integrating AI product guidance, real user reviews, and community engagement. For investors, this technological leadership is a significant competitive moat, contributing to operational leverage, the creation of new revenue streams, and a strengthened market position as a forward-thinking service provider in the New Economy.

Strategic Pillars and Operational Excellence

36Kr's strategy is built upon fortifying its content ecosystem, diversifying its service offerings, and expanding its market reach, particularly through global initiatives.

Content Ecosystem Fortification

The company consistently creates high-quality original content across multiple fronts, maintaining its existing content metrics while broadening its reach in sub-verticals. This includes specialized accounts like "emergence of intelligence," "36Kr auto," "future consumption," "36Kr games," "weights in," and "36Kr finance," which provide deep expertise in specialized domains. Tailoring content for younger generations through channels like "youth in TIDE" has further diversified its user demographics. As of June 2025, 36Kr's total follower base reached 36.57 million, marking 17 consecutive quarters of growth.

Diversified Content Formats

36Kr has embraced a multi-format approach to content dissemination. Its short video business continues to excel, with followers exceeding 9.52 million by the end of the first half of 2025, including a significant 2.47 million on Bilibili alone, representing a 10% year-over-year increase. WeChat Channels followers surged by 69% year-over-year. The company's long-form video segment, exemplified by the "Foreseeing 2034" Elite Talk Show series, garnered over 84 million views for its debut episode featuring NIO (NIO) founder William Li. Live streaming has also seen substantial growth, with 272 sessions hosted in 2024 and live streaming revenue surging by 68.5% year-over-year. A debut e-commerce live streaming episode in late 2024 attracted over 1.63 million views.

Enterprise Value-Added Services and Global Expansion

36Kr's enterprise value-added services include major event IPs such as the "Advanced Productivity AI Partner Summit" and the "WISE 2024 Business Kings Conference," which attracted over 100 million and 850 million total views, respectively. The 36Kr Research Institute provides in-depth analysis on key sectors like global expansion, embodied artificial intelligence, and the low-altitude economy. A crucial growth initiative is global expansion, with a solid presence already established in Japan and Southeast Asia, and the launch of the "36Kr European Central Station" in 2024. In December 2024, 36Kr initiated the Beijing International Chamber of Commerce Global Expansion Service Committee, and in early 2025, it partnered with Hangzhou Tian new area reconstruction and Investment Group company for the "Chinese enterprise International Services Center Operations project," aiming to build a service ecosystem for cooperative global expansion.

Financial Performance: A Turn Towards Efficiency

36Kr's recent financial performance reflects a strategic pivot towards operational efficiency and profitability, even amidst revenue adjustments. In the first half of 2025, the company reported significant progress, narrowing its net loss by an impressive 95% year-over-year to RMB4.8 million. This was largely driven by a substantial improvement in gross profit margin, which increased by 10 percentage points year-over-year to 54.4% in the first half of 2025. Operating expenses saw a dramatic decrease of 52.3% to RMB55.9 million compared to the first half of 2024, a result of rigorous cost control measures, including workforce optimization and office relocation. Cost of revenues also decreased by 25.4% to RMB42.5 million in the first half of 2025, further contributing to improved margins.

For the full year 2024, total revenue was RMB231.1 million, a decline from RMB340.2 million in 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a strategic refocusing on core, high-margin businesses, including the elimination of underperforming customers in online advertising and the optimization of regional operations in enterprise value-added services. Despite the revenue decline, operating expenses in the second half of 2024 decreased by 50% compared to the same period in 2023, and by 31.2% for the full year. Gross profit margin remained above 50% in the second half of 2024. The net loss for the full year 2024 was RMB140.8 million, impacted by an impairment loss of long-term investment.

Segment-wise, online advertising services revenue was RMB180.6 million in 2024, enterprise value-added services revenue was RMB32.8 million, and subscription services revenue was RMB17.6 million. While these figures represent a decline from 2023, management emphasized that these adjustments were proactive measures to reduce credit risk and strategically transition business models for long-term sustainability and profitability. Notably, online advertising services' ARPU rose by 22% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, and subscription services' ARPU among institutional customers increased by 8% year-over-year in the same period, indicating improved value capture from core clients. The company maintains a stable financial position with cash and short-term investments of RMB75.1 million as of June 30, 2025, and RMB92.5 million as of December 31, 2024.

Competitive Landscape: Niche Leadership in a Dynamic Market

36Kr Holdings occupies a specialized niche within China's competitive digital content and business services market, focusing intently on the New Economy. Its core competitive edge lies in its exceptional content creation prowess and its established brand recognition within the tech and startup communities. This allows 36Kr to foster trust and credibility, which are crucial for its advertising, enterprise services, and subscription offerings.

When compared to broader internet media giants like Sina Corporation (SINA), 36Kr's content is more specialized, offering in-depth reports and analysis for business professionals, whereas Sina emphasizes mass-market content and social media reach. While Sina benefits from a significantly wider user base and established advertising ecosystem, 36Kr's targeted approach can yield higher relevance for institutional investors and enterprises. Similarly, against NetEase, Inc. (NTES), which is dominant in online gaming and multimedia entertainment, 36Kr's business services and professional insights offer tailored solutions for corporate clients. NetEase's strong revenue from its core gaming business provides a different scale of financial resilience compared to 36Kr's more diversified but smaller segments.

Baidu, Inc. (BIDU), a leader in search and AI, presents a formidable competitor with its vast technological capabilities and integrated AI tools. While Baidu's AI advancements provide broader reach, 36Kr's focused AI applications, such as its AI Media Coverage and Corporate Omni-Intelligence, demonstrate a targeted approach to leveraging AI for specific business insights. Sohu.com Limited (SOHU), another general media player, competes in content and advertising, but 36Kr's integrated marketing and event services provide more comprehensive business solutions, potentially fostering stronger customer loyalty within professional networks.

36Kr's competitive advantages, or moats, include its strong brand in business content, which translates into recurring subscription revenue and pricing power. Its network effects, cultivated through its user and partner ecosystem, enhance customer loyalty and engagement. The company's unique distribution channels for specialized reports and events further solidify its position. The extensive integration of AI technology, particularly AIGC, is becoming a significant differentiator, enabling more efficient content delivery and the development of innovative products. This technological edge helps 36Kr compete effectively by offering superior targeting for users and potentially achieving better margins through efficient content delivery.

However, 36Kr faces competitive disadvantages, including a smaller overall scale and less diversified revenue streams compared to its larger counterparts. This can lead to higher operational costs and make it more susceptible to economic downturns impacting advertising spending. The company's strategic response involves proactively optimizing its product and customer base, strategically restructuring services, and implementing rigorous cost controls, all while leveraging its content influence and AI advancements to drive business forward. The company's efforts to expand globally and strengthen industrial services also aim to diversify revenue and reduce reliance on any single market segment.

Outlook and Risks: Charting a Course to Profitability

36Kr's management expresses cautious optimism regarding its future growth trajectory, particularly its goal of achieving profitability by the end of 2025. This outlook is underpinned by a strategic focus on "profitable growth" in the second half of 2025, emphasizing three key initiatives: upgrading original content, commercializing AI products, and scaling industrial services. Management anticipates continued macroeconomic rebound and sustained stimulus policies in China, alongside robust growth in AI and global expansion sectors, to support these efforts. The company plans to continue refining its product and customer base, and optimizing its organizational structure to enhance overall profitability.

Despite this optimistic outlook, several risks warrant investor attention. The tech media sector continues to face challenges, and macroeconomic uncertainties can impact advertising spending and demand for enterprise value-added services, particularly from small and medium-sized enterprises and government institutions. The intense competition from larger, more diversified internet companies with extensive resources and established AI capabilities could also pressure 36Kr's market share and profitability. Furthermore, the company's dependence on rapidly evolving AI technology necessitates continuous investment and adaptation, and potential volatility in its global expansion efforts could introduce unforeseen challenges. The impairment loss of long-term investment in 2024 also highlights the risks associated with its investment portfolio.

Conclusion

36Kr Holdings Inc. is at a pivotal juncture, actively transforming its business model to achieve sustainable profitability. The company's core investment thesis is firmly rooted in its dual strategy of aggressive operational efficiency improvements and deep integration of AI technology, coupled with a strategic push into global and industrial services. The significant reduction in net loss and improved gross margins in the first half of 2025 provide compelling evidence of the effectiveness of its "content + technology + industrial services" strategy.

While facing a competitive landscape dominated by larger players, 36Kr differentiates itself through specialized content, a robust AI-powered product suite, and a targeted approach to China's New Economy. Its ongoing efforts in content enhancement, AI product commercialization, and global expansion are critical drivers for future revenue growth and margin expansion. Investors should closely monitor the company's execution on its profitability targets, its continued innovation in AI applications, and its success in expanding its global footprint, as these factors will be instrumental in solidifying its position and unlocking long-term value in a dynamic market.