What Inke does

Inke (映客直播), legally Beijing Miluo Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京蜜莱坞网络科技有限公司), is a Beijing-headquartered mobile live streaming platform founded in May 2015 by CEO Feng Yousheng and co-founder/CTO Guangling Hou. The platform pioneered mobile live streaming in China alongside the 4G rollout and positioned itself as the "fourth internet business model" alongside advertising, e-commerce, and gaming. Its flagship product is the Inke App on iOS and Android, supplemented by a web-based 直播助手 (Live Manager) for streamers and a diamond top-up portal (充值平台). The architecture combines live video broadcasting, virtual gifting via the 钻石 (diamond) virtual currency, and social discovery features such as 家族 (family) and 真爱团 (true love) groups, with integrated multimodal content moderation supported by a 1,000+ person review team.

The platform monetizes primarily through commissions on virtual gifting transactions. Users purchase diamonds with Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, or JD Pay across tiers ranging from 6 yuan (60 diamonds) to custom whale tiers of 10,000-5,000,000 yuan, with bonus diamonds incentivizing larger purchases. Underlying streaming infrastructure is sourced predominantly from third-party SDKs, including Tencent Cloud TRTC, ZEGO real-time audio/video, ByteDance Volc Engine for face beautification, iFlytek for speech-to-text, and Tencent Turing for face liveness verification. Customer segments include general consumers, professional streamers and influencers, streaming agencies/guilds (公会), government accounts, and livestream e-commerce partners. Distribution is domestic-only via self-serve app download and a formal agency/streamer onboarding program.

Inke claims 100M+ registered users and describes itself as China's largest mobile live streaming platform. Strategic positioning has emphasized regulatory leadership (inaugural chairman of the Network Live Streaming Industry Self-Regulation Alliance, 2017), public welfare (the Live Future Culture Development Fund and 映客公益 initiatives), and selective international visibility via Belt and Road cultural diplomacy. The HKEX-listed entity (3700 HK) was pursuing A-share integration via Xunya International in 2017 and more recently, in December 2025, backed by Keensight, acquired the unrelated Pharmanoid API manufacturing site — a signal of either core-business maturation or deliberate diversification.

Name

Inke

Legal name

北京蜜莱坞网络科技有限公司

Website

https://inke.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Inke (映客直播) is a Beijing-based mobile live streaming platform founded in 2015, serving 100M+ registered users in China with virtual gifting, real-time video, and social entertainment, monetizing via commissions on diamond-based virtual gifts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. 虚拟礼物/钻石打赏: Users purchase diamonds (虚拟钻石) with real money and gift them to streamers during live broadcasts. The platform takes a commission on all virtual gift transactions, creating a transaction-based revenue stream. This is the primary revenue model, generating hundreds of millions in annual industry output. The platform offers tiered diamond packages ranging from 6 yuan (60 diamonds) up to custom amounts of 10,000 to 5,000,000 yuan, with bonus diamonds for larger purchases.
2. 直播行业第四种商业模式: Inke pioneered and helped establish live streaming as the fourth major internet business model alongside advertising, e-commerce, and gaming. The ecosystem generates approximately 500 billion yuan annually, creating a substantial产业链条 (industry chain) with employment for millions of streamers.
3. 增值服务与高级功能: Platform offers premium features and virtual items purchasable with diamonds, including special effects, upgrades, and exclusive content access, driving additional per-user monetization beyond basic gifting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Inke is a mobile live streaming platform enabling real-time video broadcasting by streamers and viewer interaction via virtual gifts. The platform uses a diamond (钻石) virtual currency where viewers purchase diamonds with real money and gift them to streamers during live broadcasts, with Inke taking a commission on all gift transactions. The platform is available on iOS and Android with supporting web-based streamer management and recharge tools.

Product overview

Inke (映客直播), operated by Beijing Milahuya Network Technology Co., Ltd., is a mobile-first live streaming and social platform positioned as 'high-颜值 (high attractiveness) live streaming social platform.' The core product is the 映客直播 App available on iOS and Android, supplemented by the web-based 映客直播助手 for streamer management and the 映客充值平台 for virtual currency (diamond) purchases. The platform supports live streaming, viewer interaction, virtual gifting, social discovery, and 1v1 video matching. The platform also houses a charity/social responsibility sub-brand called 小映公益 and operates a guild/agency partner program for streaming organizations. The architecture is a unified app with supporting web tools, unified under the Inke brand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 映客直播: High-quality live streaming social platform featuring real-time video streaming, virtual gifting, and social interactions.
• 小映公益
• 直播未来文化发展基金

Quantifiable outcome

• 映客公益年度爱心捐赠金额突破700万元
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration33 records

AI capability10 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and major.

• PharmanoidminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2025Inke acquired Pharmanoid's API manufacturing site, representing a diversification move outside the core live streaming business into pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• 李玉刚 (Li Yugang)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2017Famous Chinese opera performer who co-founded the '小映唱歌' charity livestreaming initiative with Inke, generating 994,154 映票 in his debut stream and donating the full amount to support left-behind children.
• 中国文化管理协会 (China Cultural Management Association)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2017Strategic partnership for the '一带一路, 昂扬在途' (Belt and Road, On the Way) cultural exchange program, with Inke serving as the exclusive livestreaming platform partner for a 20,000km journey across 9 countries.
• 芒果V基金minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2017Partnered with 芒果V基金 for disaster relief efforts, jointly purchasing 400 tons of cement and 300,000 bricks to aid tornado-affected areas in Inner Mongolia.
• 联合国防治荒漠化公约 (UNCCD) / 中国绿化基金会majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2017Inke was invited to participate in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP13) and received the '优秀合作伙伴' (Excellent Partner) award from the China Green Foundation, representing Inke's highest-profile international environmental partnership.
• 央广购物 (China National Radio Shopping)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2017Inke partnered with 央广购物 to launch a public welfare agricultural livestreaming initiative in Sichuan Panzhihua (China's famous mango-growing region), using the platform's traffic to help farmers sell produce.
• 直播未来文化发展基金 (Live Streaming Future Culture Development Fund)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2017Established jointly with 中华社会文化发展基金会 (China Social and Cultural Development Foundation), this fund is China's first 'livestreaming + public welfare' cultural development fund, channeling charitable donations from livestreaming activities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• JOYY Inc. JOYY (formerly YY Inc.) operates one of China's largest live streaming social platforms (YY Live). It is a direct competitor to Inke, sharing the same virtual-gifting transaction-fee model, mobile-first streaming experience, and Chinese consumer base.
• 17 Live: 17 Live is a mobile-first live streaming platform founded in Taiwan with significant operations in Asia. It competes directly with Inke in live streaming, virtual gifting monetization, and streamer recruitment.
• Huya Inc. Huya is a leading Chinese game-centric live streaming platform that has merged with Douyu. It overlaps directly with Inke in mobile live streaming technology, virtual gifting, and streamer agency relationships, though with a heavier gaming focus.
• Douyu International: Douyu is a major Chinese live streaming platform focused on gaming and entertainment. It is a direct peer to Inke, with overlapping virtual gifting mechanics, streamer signing programs, and Chinese consumer audience.
• Momo (Hello Group): Hello Group (formerly Momo) operates social and entertainment apps including live streaming features. It competes with Inke for Chinese mobile users seeking live streaming, social discovery, and virtual gifting experiences.

Broad incumbents

• Kuaishou Technology: Kuaishou is one of China's largest short-video and live streaming super-apps. It competes broadly with Inke across live streaming, virtual gifting, and now e-commerce, though it serves a much larger user base across many content categories.
• ByteDance (Douyin): ByteDance operates Douyin, China's leading short-video platform, which has heavily integrated live streaming and e-commerce. Douyin's massive scale and integrated content/creator ecosystem make it the dominant competitor pressuring standalone apps like Inke.
• Bilibili Inc. Bilibili is a major Chinese video community platform with live streaming features targeting Gen Z. While positioned differently (ACG-focused, UGC community), it competes with Inke for user attention and creator partnerships in the Chinese entertainment ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Taobao Live (Alibaba): Taobao Live is Alibaba's livestream e-commerce platform. While not a direct competitor in social/entertainment streaming, it is rapidly capturing influencer and consumer attention in livestream commerce, encroaching on the monetization opportunity Inke has begun to pursue.
• Meipai (Meitu): Meipai is a mobile short-video and live streaming app operated by Meitu. It targets similar Chinese female-skewing consumer demographics as Inke and overlaps in mobile social entertainment, virtual gifting, and beauty-filter features.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inke