Soul六年亏了11亿，只为“让天下没有孤独的人”？

Core Viewpoint - Soul, a social app aimed at alleviating loneliness among young people, is facing significant challenges as it attempts to go public for the fourth time, highlighting a shift from a "metaverse" narrative to an "AI + immersive social" focus amid ongoing user growth and financial losses [1][4]. Company Overview - Founded in 2015 in Shanghai, Soul differentiates itself from traditional social platforms by allowing users to create virtual identities (Avatars) and express themselves without revealing their real identities [3]. - The company employs a "soul test" during registration to match users with similar interests, fostering a unique social environment [3]. Financial Performance - Soul has reported continuous losses over six years, totaling over 3 billion yuan, despite increasing revenues from 71 million yuan in 2019 to 2.211 billion yuan in 2024 [8]. - The average monthly revenue per paying user reached 104.4 yuan, ranking first among AI + immersive social platforms in China [3][5]. - Revenue from emotional value services accounted for 90.8% of total income for the eight months ending August 31, 2025 [3]. User Metrics - Soul's monthly active users peaked at 31.6 million in 2021 but have since declined to 26.2 million by 2024 [7]. - The company has experienced fluctuating growth rates, with revenue growth slowing down significantly in recent years [8]. Strategic Shifts - Soul's narrative has shifted from focusing on the "metaverse" to emphasizing "AI," with the term "AI" appearing 210 times in the latest prospectus, compared to 23 mentions of "metaverse" in the previous one [4]. - The introduction of technologies like 3D Avatars and the Soul X model has expanded its social ecosystem, creating various interactive scenarios [4]. IPO Attempts - Soul has made four attempts to go public, initially targeting the U.S. market before shifting to Hong Kong, with the latest submission occurring in November 2025 [13][17]. - The company faced legal challenges and competitive pressures that have complicated its IPO journey, including a lawsuit from competitor Uki [15][16].