«Chinese Netflix» iQiyi goes all-in on AI

China’s largest streaming platform, iQiyi, has announced the most extensive restructuring in its 16-year history: the company is betting on artificial intelligence, which is expected to soon create most of its films and shows almost from scratch.

iQiyi, often called the «Chinese Netflix», has introduced a tool called Nadou Pro that can produce movies — from script to final render. The video platform will transform into a social media hub for AI-generated content, and the first commercial AI film is set to be released this summer.

The reason behind the shift is a multi-year decline due to competition from short-form video platforms (like Douyin). iQiyi’s revenue is forecast to be 13% lower. However, its overseas subscription revenue grew by more than 30% over the past year.