Search engine banks on global input services demand

Chinese search engine Sogou Inc is pinning its hopes of industry success on its input method for typing Chinese characters, said Sogou's CEO Wang Xiaochuan after the company released its first financial results since its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in November.

Input methods use various keyboard stokes to select characters or symbols that are not on the users' physical devices. Wang pledged to attach greater importance to turning that fundamental tool into a source of wealth in itself, instead of relying solely on the search process.

A report from Chinese big data service provider Jiguang said Sogou's input method attracted 151.8 million daily active users last December, growing 28.8 percent on a yearly basis. That puts it behind Tencent's social apps WeChat and QQ, as well as Alibaba's e-commerce app Taobao and payment tool Alipay.

The company's main strategy in 2018 is to improve its twin growth drivers－its search engine and input method－with the help of artificial intelligence technology, Wang said.

"Sogou aims to develop AI centering on language, such as voice, conversation, Q&A and translation technologies," Wang said.

He added the recent release of two new AI-enabled translation products that work with pictures and voices are part of efforts to promote Sogou's brand and to cash in on its search business.

In 2017, the Tencent and Sohu-backed company achieved total revenue of $908.4 million, an increase of 38 percent year-on-year, and its net income hit $82.2 million, up 46 percent from 2016, according to the company's financial statement.

The company reported $277.8 million in total revenue in the last quarter of 2017, a 62 percent growth. Net income in the same period was $15.5 million, a 44 percent increase year-on-year, according to the statement.

As the latest financial statement for 2017 showed, nearly 90 percent of Sogou's revenues came from its search function and search-related advertising.

In December 2017, Sogou's search engines ranked No 4 for Chinese market share, accounting for 3.94 percent, according to data from analytics provider StatCounter. The figure follows Baidu's 70.74 percent, Shenma's 15.16 percent and Haosou's 7.12 percent.

Wang has bought 2.02 million Class A ordinary shares in the company, increasing his stake to 5.3 percent, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec 4. His initial stake was 4.9 percent when the Beijing-based company launched an IPO in the United States.