Hong Kong – Tailor Insight, the fintech market research organization, recently released a research report WIMI Hologram Cloud, the '3D Vision + Holographic AR' Solution Provider Profoundly Deploys the Holographic Cloud Ecosystem". WIMI Hologram Cloud recently released its financial data for 2020 ，The Company reported that its revenues increased by approximately RMB 446.8 million, or 140.0 %, from approximately RMB 319.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately RMB 766.0 million (US$ 117.4 million) for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Since its inception in 2015, the Company has offered AR-based holographic services and products to cater to customers' needs, focusing on providing an innovative, immersive and interactive holographic AR experience tocustomers and end users. Since July 2020, the Company has developed its semiconductor business and provided computer chip products and comprehensive solutions for central processing algorithms and related services with software and hardware integration to its enterprise customers. In 2020, the Company generated approximately 44% and 56.0% of its revenues from holographic AR business and semiconductor business, respectively.
According to some reports, WIMI focuses on holographic cloud services, mainly in vehicle-mounted AR holographic HUD, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR, head-mounted light field holographic equipment, holographic semiconductor, holographic cloud software, holographic car navigation, and other professional fields, covering multiple links of AR technology, including holographic vehicle-mounted AR technology, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR technology, holographic vision semiconductor technology, holographic software development, holographic AR advertising technology, holographic AR entertainment technology, holographic ARSDK payment, interactive holographic communication, and so on. It is a holographic cloud comprehensive technical solution provider.
With the application of 5G scenarios, many new technologies will reach a periodof opportunity of application and vigorous development. In fact, on the basis of 5G commercial use, holographic AR will form an ecosystem.
WIMI will promote the construction and operation of the AR industrial content platform and build an AR content and application platform based on the core technology of WIMI's independent intellectual property rights. At present, WIMI's holographic face recognition technology and holographic facial change technology are being applied to the existing holographic advertising and entertainment business, and the technology is also being continuously upgraded, hoping to make breakthroughs in more industry fields. Moreover, WIMI continues to improve and strengthen existing technologies, maintain its leading position in the industry, continuously enrich AR industry market applications, and create an AR industry ecological chain. The goal of WIMI is to establish a business ecosystem based on the application of holographic technology.
5G triggers the application of holographic AR technology
With the continuous advancement of chips, display technology, communication methods, and algorithms, major manufacturers have made efforts in the AR/VR field and the arrival of 5G. AR/VR will become the most anticipated application scenario.
Compared with 4G, 5G has the characteristics of high speed, ultra-low latency, and high connection density. It is helpful to the penetration and popularization of VR/AR in terms of the network environment, transmission bandwidth, and latency. Specifically, first of all,the highest transmission speed of the 5G network can reach 10Gb/s, which is conducive to the transmission and real-time playback of ultra-high-definition content above 8K. Secondly,the edge cloud helps to reduce data transmission and feedback time, and the delay under 5G is <10ms, which helps reduce the dizziness of using VR/AR equipment.
According to the latest data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the global virtual reality industry scale is close to 100 billion yuan, and the average compound growth rate in 2017-2022 is expected to exceed 70%. In terms of overall scale, according to Greenlight, the global AR/VR market exceeded 70 billion yuan in 2018, with a year-on-year increase of 126%. Among them, the overall VR market exceeds 60 billion yuan, the VR content market is about 20 billion yuan, the overall AR market exceeds 10 billion yuan, and the AR content market is close to 8 billion yuan. It was estimated that the global virtual reality industry will exceed 200 billion yuan in 2020, of which the VR market is 160 billion yuan, and the AR market is 45 billion yuan.
Ming-Chi Guo, theanalyst ofTianfeng International, published an article in March this year, saying that MR (Mixed Reality) and AR are the major trends in the technology industry for the next ten years. Ming-Chi Guo, who is known for predicting Apple products, is uniquely sensitive to the trend of technological development. Analysts of JPMorgan Chase have revealed that Apple will officially release VR and AR products in the first quarter of 2022. In fact, Apple began researching AR technology as early as 2016, and CEO Cook said that he is optimistic about the development of AR in the long term.
With the rapid development and application of 5G technology, many industry vertical fields using VR/AR/MR related technologies are also developing rapidly. Exceptfor Microsoft and Apple, technology giants such as Facebook and Google have also participated in this area.
The holographic AR industry value chain consists of three main parts. The upstream part refers to the key hardware, software, services, providers, and participants related to content production. Midstream participants are providers of holographic AR solutions, integrating upstream hardware and software systems to form the final product or solution. Downstream refers to end-users, including governments, enterprises, households, and individual consumers.
WIMI currently participates in the upstream part, including developing software, providing content production technology, and creating and distributing content. Meanwhile, it also participates in the midstream part, that is, providing holographic AR solutions.
WIMI has the leading AR holographic application platform in China. According to Frost & Sullivan, from the perspective of total revenue in 2017, WIMIHologram Cloud is already China's leading holographic AR application platform.Besides, according to Frost & Sullivan data, in 2018, WIMI established a comprehensive and diversified holographic AR content library among all holographic AR solution providers in China. In terms of revenue, the number of customers,holographic AR contents, and the number of holographic AR patents and software copyrights, WIMI ranks first in China's holographic AR industry.In the whole year of 2018, WIMI has approximately 4654 AR holographic contents, 106 software copyrights, and 219 technical patents.WIMI is committed to using holographic technology to meet the entertainment and business needs of customers and end-users. According to Frost&Sullivan, the holographic AR application platform currently operated by WIMI covers the widest range of holographic AR products in China. The comprehensive platform application of WIMI is a key factor that distinguishes WIMI Hologram Cloud from its competitors.
WIMI has been focusing on AR+AI technology research and development. According to public information, WIMI currently has many patents in professional fields such as in-vehicle AR holographic HUD, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR (laser radar), head-mounted light field holographic equipment, and holographic car navigation. It has become an AR comprehensive technical solution provider. At present, three holographic AR terminal products have been launched, and WIMI actively exploring the commercial implementation of multiple consumer scenarios around the world. Next, WIMI will further explore the application of semiconductor scenarios and accelerate the layout of the semiconductor chip market.
With the rapid implementation of 5G, WIMI will continue to explore the combination of holographic AR and different application scenariosand strive to promote the real arrival of the AR era. At present, the AR industry still focuses on the businesscommercial area because its product form and price have not yet reached the consumer level.Overall, although it will take time for the AR industry to enter the market forconsumers, with the promotion of giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google,and WIMI, and the joint efforts of the industry, it is believed that this day will come soon.
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Media contact
Alex Xie, Senior Analyst
Fintech Research Team, Tailor Insight Research