Agora(API) 东兴证券·2024-10-15 09:40Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Recommend" rating for Agora (API NASDAQ) [2][6] Core Viewpoints - Agora has become a partner of OpenAI, providing low-latency capabilities for AI large model voice interaction through its integration with OpenAI's Realtime API [2][3] - The Realtime API enables AI to understand human emotions directly from voice inputs, bypassing the traditional speech-to-text and text-to-speech processes, which often lose emotional context and have higher latency [3] - Agora's Conversational AI SDK integrates OpenAI's Realtime API, offering developers low-latency, high-availability, and high-quality audio transmission services, along with features like echo cancellation and noise reduction [3] - The partnership highlights Agora's strong competitiveness in overseas markets, particularly in addressing network latency and last-mile network quality issues for AI voice interactions [4] Financial Projections - Revenue is projected to be $136 2 million in 2024 (yoy -3 8%), $147 7 million in 2025 (yoy +8 4%), and $165 9 million in 2026 (yoy +12 3%) [6] - Net income is expected to improve from -$32 6 million in 2024 to -$10 4 million in 2026, with Non-GAAP net income turning positive at $4 0 million in 2026 [6] - The price-to-sales (PS) ratio is forecasted to decline from 2 0 in 2024 to 1 6 in 2026, reflecting potential valuation improvements [8] Market Position and Competitive Landscape - Agora is positioned as a professional third-party RTC service provider, leveraging its Software-Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN) to offer low-latency, high-coverage, and high-availability services across 200+ countries and regions [4] - Compared to competitors like Twilio and LiveKit, Agora focuses on internet-based real-time audio communication, while Twilio primarily serves AI applications and telecom networks, and LiveKit offers open-source solutions requiring developer customization [4] Pricing and Usage - OpenAI charges $100 per 1 million audio input tokens and $200 per 1 million audio output tokens, translating to approximately $60 per 1,000 minutes for audio input and $240 per 1,000 minutes for audio output [4] - Agora charges $0 99 per 1,000 minutes, with no revenue sharing between Agora and OpenAI [4] - Due to the relatively high cost of Realtime API, its application is expected to be limited to high-value scenarios like customer service, education, and emotional companionship in the short term [4]