What Shengwang does

Shengwang (声网), operating internationally as Agora, Inc. (NASDAQ: API), is a Shanghai-headquartered provider of real-time audio/video cloud infrastructure and conversational AI services, founded in 2014 and listed on NASDAQ since 2020. The company builds its products on SD-RTN™, a proprietary software-defined real-time network deployed across 200+ countries with <76ms global median latency, >99.99% availability, and 80% packet loss tolerance. The product portfolio spans foundational RTC capabilities (voice/video calling, interactive live streaming, signaling, instant messaging), AI-enhanced extensions (Fengming AI Engine for denoising and spatial audio, Conversational AI Engine for upgrading text LLMs into multimodal voice AI, real-time transcription and translation, content moderation), low-code platforms for education and IoT, and a Cloud Marketplace aggregating third-party plugins.

Shengwang serves a long-tail developer base (742,000+ registered applications, 600B+ monthly channel-participant minutes) plus enterprise customers across social entertainment, education, finance, healthcare, government, smart hardware/IoT, and automotive. Named customers include Yalla, Soul, DJI, Shopee, Bilibili, Xiaomi, New Oriental, BMW, China Merchants Bank, and HTC Vive. Revenue is primarily usage-based, billed per channel-participant minute with pre-paid volume discounts (up to 15% off standard rates) and a freemium tier (10,000 free RTC minutes/month, 1,000 free Conversational AI minutes/month). FY2025 revenue was $141.1M with $9.5M net income — the company's first full year of profitability since 2018.

Name

Shengwang

Legal name

Shanghai Shengwang Technology Co., Ltd. (上海声网科技有限公司)

Website

https://shengwang.cn

Company type

Public

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Shengwang (Agora, NASDAQ: API) provides real-time audio/video cloud APIs and a Conversational AI Engine on its proprietary SD-RTN network across 200+ countries, serving developers and enterprises in social, education, finance, IoT, and live-streaming verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real-Time Communication Cloud APIs

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Messaging APIs, CPaaS & Programmable Communications (BPAMACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC), Contact Center (CCaaS) & Customer Engagement Voice (HDAIAHAF), Cloud Video Surveillance (VSaaS) Setup & Management (HSAHACAE)

Keywords

• Real-time communication
• Conversational AI engine
• Audio video SDK
• Live streaming API
• Cloud communication platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. RTC SDK Usage (Real-Time Communication): Usage-based billing for RTC SDK services including voice/video calling and interactive live streaming. Billed per channel-participant minutes (as opposed to per-stream minutes), where total minutes = number of participants x duration in minutes. Pre-paid minute packages with volume discounts (up to 15% off standard rates) are available. Free tier provides 10,000 minutes/month for RTC.
2. Conversational AI Engine: Usage-based or subscription-based billing for the Conversational AI engine, launched March 2025. Free tier provides 1,000 minutes/month. Revenue from AI-powered voice interaction capabilities integrated into customer applications.
3. Cloud Marketplace Commission: Shengwang Cloud Marketplace hosts third-party plugins (video effects, audio effects, NLP, content moderation). Shengwang earns commissions on third-party plugin sales distributed through the marketplace.
4. Cloud Recording: Billed per recording minutes for cloud recording services (cloud-side recording, local server-side recording, page recording). Pre-paid packages available with volume discounts up to 15% off standard rates.
5. Interactive Live Streaming: Billed per channel-participant minutes for interactive live streaming and fast streaming services. Supports interactive live streaming (CDN-based) and ultra-fast live streaming (ultra-low latency).
6. Low-Code Platforms (灵动课堂, 秒搭, 灵隼): Subscription or usage-based revenue from low-code application platforms including flexible classroom, visual no-code builder, and IoT cloud platform for device development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Shengwang (声网/Agora) provides a real-time communication (RTC) cloud platform and conversational AI engine delivered via SDKs and APIs for integration into third-party applications. Core services include voice/video calling, interactive live streaming, cloud signaling, instant messaging, and AI-powered audio/video processing, supporting 10 million-level concurrent users across 200+ countries on its proprietary SD-RTN network. The platform also offers low-code industry solutions for education, smart hardware, government/enterprise meetings, and a marketplace for third-party plugin distribution.

Product overview

Shengwang (声网) is a global leading Conversational AI and Real-Time Engagement (RTE) cloud service provider. The platform operates as a modular portfolio built on its core real-time communication (RTC) infrastructure — the proprietary SD-RTN™ distributed network — combined with a Conversational AI Engine that upgrades text LLMs into multimodal voice-interactive models. The product family includes foundational RTC capabilities (voice/video calling, live streaming, cloud signaling, instant messaging), extended capabilities (AI denoising/echo cancellation via the Phoenix AI Engine, spatial audio, interactive whiteboard, cloud recording, content moderation), and a Cloud Marketplace hosting third-party plugins (FaceUnity, iFlytek, NetEase YDun, Microsoft, SenseTime). Low-code platforms (灵动课堂 for education, 秒搭 for app building, 灵隼 IoT for device development) and industry-specific solutions (smart cameras, cloud meetings, healthcare, finance) sit atop this core stack. The platform also offers an open-source tool library (TEN) and an AI model benchmarking platform, positioning the portfolio as a comprehensive RTE cloud infrastructure with AI-first product differentiation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SD-RTN™: Software-defined real-time network - the company's proprietary global network infrastructure covering 200+ countries and regions
• 对话式 AI 引擎 (Conversational AI Engine)
• 凤鸣 AI 引擎 (Fengming AI Engine)
• 水晶球 (Crystal Ball)
• 灵动课堂 (Flexible Classroom)
• 灵隼物联网云平台
• 云市场 (Cloud Marketplace)
• TEN 开源工具库
• 秒搭 (UI Builder)

Products and services

• Conversational AI Engine (对话式AI引擎) A real-time multimodal conversational AI platform that upgrades any text-based LLM to a voice-capable conversational model, enabling AI chatbots, virtual companions, voice assistants, AI language tutors, and intelligent customer service. Targeted at AI application developers and smart hardware OEMs.
• Voice Call (语音通话) Real-time one-to-one and multi-party voice calling service with global coverage and low latency, delivered via SDK. Used by app developers building social, customer service, and communication features.
• Video Call (视频通话) Real-time one-to-one and multi-party video calling with high-definition support and global coverage. Used by app developers for 1v1 social, video dating, and group communication features.
• Live Streaming Cloud (直播云) Low-latency, high-quality interactive live streaming service delivered via a single SDK covering interactive live streaming, fast live streaming, and CDN-integrated streaming. Used by social, e-commerce, sports, and entertainment app developers.
• Interactive Live Streaming (互动直播) Interactive live streaming service with ultra-low latency enabling synchronized audience interaction for entertainment, e-commerce, and social broadcasting use cases.
• Fast Live Streaming (极速直播) High-concurrency live streaming service optimized for speed and scalability, suited for large-audience broadcasts such as sports streaming and gaming live streams.
• CDN Integration (融合CDN) Integrated CDN streaming service connecting to multiple domestic and international CDN providers for optimal playback across geographies.
• Cloud Signaling (云信令) Ultra-low-latency, high-concurrency, high-reliability global signaling and messaging cloud service for real-time app coordination.
• Instant Messaging IM (即时通讯) Instant messaging service supporting one-on-one chat, group chat, chat rooms, and system notifications for social and enterprise apps.
• Real-time Transcription & Translation (实时转录翻译) Real-time speech-to-text transcription and multilingual translation service supporting 9 languages, used to generate subtitles for live streaming, voice social, and video conferencing applications.
• Real-time Recording (实时录制) Cloud recording, local server-side recording, and web page recording capabilities for capturing and storing real-time audio/video sessions, billed per recording minutes.
• AI Denoiser (AI降噪) AI-powered noise reduction that suppresses over 100 types of sudden noise and maintains clean audio in low SNR or crowded voice environments for real-time communication applications.
• Phoenix AI Engine (凤鸣AI引擎) Next-generation audio intelligence engine featuring AI-powered noise reduction (100+ noise types), echo cancellation, and spatial audio simulation for immersive voice experiences in gaming, VR, and social audio applications.
• Spatial Audio (空间音频) AI-powered spatial audio that simulates realistic hearing through range audio, voice blurring, and air attenuation for immersive sound positioning in gaming and VR applications.
• Flexible Classroom (灵动课堂) Low-code online education platform enabling EdTech companies and educational institutions to launch branded interactive teaching environments in 15 minutes, covering K-12, vocational, and adult education.
• UI Builder (秒搭) Visual no-code development platform for building real-time interaction applications without coding, targeted at developers and product teams.
• IoT Cloud Platform (灵隼物联网云平台) End-to-end low-code audio/video IoT device development platform enabling manufacturers to quickly add real-time communication capabilities to IoT hardware products.
• Government & Enterprise Intelligent Cloud Meeting Engine (政企智能云会议引擎) Enterprise cloud meeting engine providing 'private network-grade' stable experience for government and large enterprise customers, with AI Agent capabilities for autonomous meeting summarization, task generation, and closed-loop workflow integration.
• Intelligent Camera Engine / 泛IPC Solution (智能摄像头引擎) Upgrades generic IP Camera devices from 'visible' to 'interactive and intelligent' with real-time interaction and AI processing for smart home, security, and IoT camera manufacturers.
• Conversational AI Development Kit (对话式AI开发套件) Embeds conversational AI capabilities into smart hardware devices, enabling them to speak and interact with users via voice AI integration.
• AI Model Evaluation Platform (对话式) Benchmarking platform for evaluating conversational AI model performance across multiple dimensions, enabling developers to compare model capabilities before selection.
• TEN Open Source Library (TEN开源工具库) Open-source framework and tools library for building and extending multimodal real-time engagement applications, promoting developer ecosystem and interoperability.
• Shengwang Cloud Marketplace (云市场) One-stop API marketplace for real-time interaction modules where third-party plugin providers (FaceUnity, SenseTime, iFlytek, NetEase YIDUN, Microsoft) list audio effects, video effects, NLP, and content moderation integrations for developers to discover, compare, integrate, and purchase.

Quantifiable outcome

• HD video quality yields 10.3% higher user retention duration compared to SD quality, per Shengwang platform data.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability9 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NetEase Zhiku (网易智企)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026NetEase's one-stop enterprise service subsidiary and Shengwang signed a strategic cooperation agreement on April 7, 2026. The partnership focuses on deep collaboration in real-time audio/video, content security, and AI Agent areas. Both parties will leverage their respective strengths in RTC technology and enterprise services to create a new digital ecosystem combining real-time communication with AI Agents.
• DJI Ecosystem (大疆生态)coreTechnology or IntegrationShengwang's RTC solution has passed DJI ecosystem certification. DJI's publicly accessible cloud API adopts Shengwang as the domestic RTC access standard, jointly providing real-time audio/video solutions for drone scenarios.
• YallacoreTechnology or IntegrationShengwang enables Yalla, the largest voice social and entertainment platform in the Middle East and North Africa, to provide stable and smooth real-time communication experiences for global users.
• Xiaotiancai (小天才)coreTechnology or IntegrationShengwang provides technical services enabling real-time HD video calling between parents and children via Xiaotiancai smartwatches designed for children aged 5-12.
• Iflytek (讯飞/科大讯飞)coreTechnology or IntegrationShengwang Cloud Marketplace hosts Iflytek's real-time speech transcription and translation plugin, supporting 9 languages for real-time STT and translation, enabling subtitle generation for live streaming, social audio, and video conferencing.
• NetEase YIDUN (网易易盾)coreTechnology or IntegrationShengwang Cloud Marketplace hosts NetEase YIDUN's content moderation plugins (video and audio) for policy compliance and content safety in RTC channels.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tencent RTC (TRTC): Tencent Cloud's real-time communication service, the most direct head-to-head competitor inside China. Offers similar voice/video SDKs and live streaming, tightly integrated with Tencent's broader ecosystem of social and gaming customers.
• MessageBird (Bird): Omnichannel CPaaS provider offering messaging, voice, and email APIs globally. Comparable business model (usage-based programmatic communications) and developer/enterprise GTM, though heavier on messaging than video.
• Vonage (Ericsson): CPaaS provider acquired by Ericsson, offering programmable voice, video, messaging, and number management APIs. Direct competitor in programmable communications, particularly in enterprise and international markets.
• Bandwidth Inc. Communications platform offering voice, messaging, and 911 APIs. Comparable CPaaS model serving enterprise and developer customers with programmatic communications, though with a stronger PSTN/voice tilt.
• Sinch: Sweden-based CPaaS provider offering messaging, voice, and video APIs to enterprises globally. Comparable in business model (usage-based APIs for developers) and customer base, though with a stronger messaging and SMS tilt than video.
• Daily.co: Developer-first WebRTC video and audio API provider serving social, education, and telehealth apps. Highly comparable API-first product model and target customer base (developers building real-time video applications).
• Twilio: Largest pure-play CPaaS provider globally, offering programmable voice, video, messaging, and email APIs. Closest direct comparable to Shengwang's RTC SDK and CPaaS model, serving developers and enterprises globally with usage-based billing.
• Alibaba Cloud CommsRTC: Alibaba Cloud's real-time communication product offering voice, video, and signaling APIs. Competes directly with Shengwang in the China market and is often bundled with Alibaba Cloud infrastructure deals.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Azure Communication Services: Hyperscaler-scale communication APIs (voice, video, chat, SMS) bundled with Azure cloud services. Competes with Shengwang via aggressive enterprise pricing and integrated cloud relationships, but does not specialize in developer-first RTC.
• Amazon Chime SDK: AWS's developer-focused real-time communication service offering voice, video, and messaging SDKs. Competes head-on with Shengwang on RTC features while leveraging the broader AWS ecosystem and pricing power.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/AgoraIO
• Facebookfacebook.com/AgoraIO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agora-lab-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Shengwang