Agora hops on the China tech breakup bandwagon


The provider of real-time engagement services will split into two units, one focused on China and the other on its international business.  6park.com
这家实时互动服务供应商将拆分成两个部门，一个专注中国市场，另一个主攻国际业务。



The year 2023 is rapidly becoming the “Year of the Breakup” for Chinese tech companies, with Agora Inc. (API.US) becoming the latest to join the trend. The provider of real-time engagement services announced it has split itself into two parts, one focused on China and the other on its non-China operations. 6park.com
2023年正迅速成为中国科技公司的“拆分年”，声网(API.US)成为最新加入这一趋势的公司。这家实时互动服务供应商宣布已拆分成两部分，一部分专注于中国，另一部分专注于中国以外的业务。 6park.com
   
The breakup looks similar to one that attracted far bigger headlines in March, when e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA.US; 9988.HK) announced a plan to split itself into six pieces. Several other companies are moving in similar directions, including autonomous driving technology company TuSimple (TSP.US) and wearable device maker Zepp (ZEPP.US). 6park.com
这次拆分看上去与3月那个引起了更大关注的拆分新闻类似，当时电子商务巨头阿里巴巴(BABA.US; 9988.HK)宣布将自己一分为六的计划。其他几家公司也在朝着类似的方向发展，包括自动驾驶技术公司图森未来(TSP.US)和可穿戴设备制造商华米科技(ZEPP.US)。 6park.com
   
A number of factors are driving the trend, including a desire to operate more efficiently, which is one of the main catalysts for Alibaba. For smaller companies like Agora, the decision also has a geopolitical element, recognizing that China is relatively unique for tech companies due to its higher degree of regulatory oversight compared with other global markets. Growing concerns about data security are also driving the trend, leading companies like Agora to clearly define their individual markets and build ring fences around the data it handles in each of those areas. 6park.com
有许多因素正在推动这一趋势，包括提高运营效率的愿望，这对阿里巴巴而言，是主要的催化剂之一。而对于声网这家规模较小的公司而言，这个决定还涉及地缘政治因素，因为它认识到，中国市场对科技公司相对独特，因为它的监管程度高于全球其他市场。另外，对数据安全的担忧日益增加，也在推动着这一潮流，促使声网这样的公司明确定义各个市场，并构建护栏隔开各个市场的数据。 6park.com
   
Agora briefly made global headlines two years ago when media reported it was one of the main technology partners behind social media sensation Clubhouse’s audio chatroom service. But the company quickly came under fire after people discovered that some of the Clubhouse-related data was being routed through Agora’s China-based servers. 6park.com
两年前，声网一度登上全球新闻头条，当时媒体报道，它是引发轰动的社交媒体Clubhouse语音聊天室服务背后的主要技术合作伙伴之一。但在人们发现部分Clubhouse相关数据是通过声网在中国的服务器传输后，该公司很快遭到了抨击。 6park.com
   
The kind of breakup Agora has just revealed would probably address this kind of issue by making sure data from its international division remained outside of China, ideally housed on servers in the same country where each Agora customer was based. 6park.com
声网刚刚透露的这种拆分，或许可以解决此类问题——确保国际业务产生的数据保留在中国境外，最好是存放在声网客户所在国家的服务器上。 6park.com
   
The company’s new international business will retain the Agora name, while the China-based business will take its Chinese name, Shengwang, Agora said in announcing the move earlier this week together with its latest quarterly earnings. The current U.S.-listed Agora would then become a holding company for the two units, which would each operate independently with their own separate management teams. The international division would be based in the Silicon Valley in California, while the Chinese division would be based in Shanghai. 6park.com
该公司最新拆分出来的国际业务，将保留Agora的名称，而中国业务将使用其中文名称声网，声网在本周早些时候公布这一举措及其最新季度财报时表示。目前在美国上市的声网将成为这两个部门的控股公司，两个部门将独立运营，各自有独立的管理团队。国际部门总部将设在加利福尼亚州的硅谷，而中国部门将以上海为总部。 6park.com
   
“We believe that this strategic reorganization will allow us to optimally focus our resources on the priorities of each business – driving growth for the Agora business and competing more effectively for the Shengwang business – while taking into consideration the unique economic and product needs of customers in each market,” said Agora founder and Chairman Tony Zhao, who has a rich history working with real-time engagement technology both in Silicon Valley and in China. 6park.com
“我们相信，组织架构的调整，将使我们更有针对性地应对不同市场客户的独特需求，并集中资源实现两部分业务各自的战略优先级目标，即Agora业务重点为驱动增长，声网业务重点为提升竞争效率，”声网创始人兼董事长赵斌说，他在硅谷和中国都有丰富的实时互动技术工作经验。 6park.com
   
Zhao was a founding engineer at Webex, which was later acquired by Cisco (CSCO.US). He was also previously CTO of Nasdaq-listed Chinese social networking and online karaoke site Joyy Inc. (YY.US), formerly known as YY, which like Webex, developed technology enabling real-time video and voice engagement. 6park.com
赵斌是Webex的创始工程师，该公司后来被思科(CSCO.US)收购。他还曾担任在纳斯达克上市的中国社交网络和在线卡拉OK网站欢聚(YY.US)的首席技术官，该公司以前叫YY，与Webex 一样，开发支持实时视频和语音互动的技术。

Divorce ahead? 分道扬镳？

Agora didn’t provide any details on whether the newly announced split could ultimately turn into a full-fledged divorce down the road, which would sever all ties between the pair by giving each its own separate listing. But we wouldn’t be surprised if this ultimately happened, since such a move would greatly reduce the data security risks we previously mentioned. 6park.com
声网没有提供任何细节，说明新宣布的拆分会否演变成彻底的分道扬镳，通过双方各自上市切断所有联系。但这种情况即便发生，我们也不会太过惊讶，因为此举将大大降低我们之前提到的数据安全风险。 6park.com
   
For now, at least, the company has started reporting separate operating metrics for the two main divisions, giving investors a better idea of how each is doing and what different issues they face. 6park.com
至少就目前而言，该公司已经开始分别报告这两个主要部门的运营指标，让投资者更好地了解每个部门的表现，以及它们面临的不同问题。 6park.com
   
The nine-year-old company was growing rapidly around the time of its June 2020 IPO, though it has yet to earn a profit for any of its previously reported years. But its growth hit a major speedbump last year when one of its key customer groups – providers of K-12 tutoring services in China – was banned by Beijing from providing such services in 2021. As a result, Agora’s revenue began contracting in the first quarter of last year, and has been declining ever since. 6park.com
在2020年6月首次公开募股后，这家成立9年的公司一路快速成长，尽管它从未录得盈利。但去年，该公司遭遇重大打击，因为它的主要客户群体之一，也就是中国的K-12辅导服务提供商，在2021年被中国政府禁止提供此类服务。因此，声网的收入从去年一季度开始萎缩，此后一直在下降。 6park.com
   
That trend continued in this year’s first quarter, with Agora’s overall revenue down 5.6% to $36.4 million for the period, according to its latest report. The declines look set to continue into the second quarter as well. The company forecast its revenue would total between $34 million and $37 million in the three months through June, whose midpoint would represent a 13% decline from the $41 million it reported a year earlier. 6park.com
根据声网的最新报告，这一趋势延续到了今年一季度，报告期内公司总收入下降5.6%，至3,640万美元。这种下滑趋势似乎还将持续到二季度，该公司预计，在截至6月份的三个月里，总收入将在3,400万美元(2.4亿元)至3,700万美元之间，中值将比上年同期的4,100万美元下降13%。 6park.com
   
The breakdown between the two new independent units shows that China still accounts for the bigger part of Agora’s overall business. But the international portion is rapidly gaining share as it continues to grow, while the China business is still reeling from the loss of the K-12 education business. 6park.com
拆分后的数据显示，中国业务仍占公司大头。但国际业务持续增长，迅速扩大占比，而中国业务仍受到K-12教育业务损失的影响。 6park.com
   
Revenue for the Shengwan China business fell 14.5% year-on-year in the first quarter to $21.3 million, accounting for nearly 60% of the total. The international Agora unit’s revenue rose 10.2% to $15.1 million, though we should also point out the latest figure was down about 4.4% from the previous quarter. The company did a good job controlling costs, with its operating expenses down 25.5% from a year ago. As a result, its non-GAAP loss, which excludes items like stock-based compensation, narrowed to $9.1 million from a $16.9 million loss a year earlier. 6park.com
在一季度，声网中国业务的收入同比下降14.5%，至2,130万美元，占总营收的近60%。国际部门的收入增长10.2%，达到1,510万美元，不过我们也应该指出，最新的收入数字比上一季度下降了约4.4%。 6park.com
该公司在控制成本方面做得很好，其运营费用比一年前下降了25.5%。因此，其非GAAP亏损(不包括基于股票的薪酬等项目)从一年前的1,690万美元缩至910万美元。 6park.com
   
The company still has plenty of cash, with $416 million in its coffers at the end of March, meaning it’s unlikely to face a cash crunch anytime soon. More importantly, Agora really needs to return to growth in China and also post some stronger growth internationally if it wants to regain investor favor. Zhao dangled artificial intelligence (AI) as a possible catalyst for that kind of new growth in the not-too-distant figure, pointing out such technology allows humans to experience a wider range of interactions online by offering virtual characters in addition to other humans. 6park.com
该公司现金充裕，截至3月底，持有4.16亿美元的现金和现金等价物，这意味着它在短期内不会面临现金短缺。更重要的是，如果声网想重新获得投资者的青睐，它真的需要在中国市场恢复动力，同时在国际市场也要实现更为强劲的增长。赵斌认为，人工智能可能是推动在不太遥远的将来实现这种新增长的催化剂，他指出，这种技术可以提供虚拟角色作为补充，使人类在线体验更广泛的互动。 6park.com
   
That might sound good in principle, but investors are still not too impressed by the company. Its stock initially fell after the latest earnings report release, though it bounced back the next day. But its latest close of $3.025 is still a fraction of its $20 IPO price. In terms of valuation, the company trades at a quite modest price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 1.8, which is lower than the 2.1 for the similar Twilio (TWLO.US) but higher than the 0.52 for 8x8 (EGHT.US). 6park.com
从理论上讲，这听起来不错，但投资者仍然不大买账。在最新财报发布后，该公司股价最初下跌，但第二天出现反弹。不过，其最新收盘价3.025美元仍远低于20美元的IPO价格。在估值方面，该公司的市销率相当低，为1.8倍，低于类似的Twilio(TWLO.US)的2.1倍，但高于8x8 (EGHT.US)的0.52倍。 6park.com