Core Viewpoint - The year 2024 is recognized as the year of AI application explosion, with AI expected to become a fundamental service empowering various industries. The performance of AI-related companies in the A-share market is under scrutiny as they report their mid-year results for 2025, questioning whether their AI businesses have formed a positive commercial cycle [1]. Group 1: Company Performance - Company 360 has faced continuous revenue decline from 2019 to 2024, with a reported revenue of 3.827 billion yuan in the first half of this year, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 3.67%. However, the net profit attributable to shareholders was -282 million yuan, showing a year-on-year increase of 17.43% [1]. - Despite a slight rebound in revenue growth, the company remains in a state of continuous loss. Notably, the growth rate of sales expenses has significantly outpaced revenue growth, with sales expenses increasing nearly 35% while revenue growth was less than 4% in the first half of the year [1]. Group 2: Business Model and Market Dynamics - The company's internet advertising and service business relies on various products such as "Nano AI Search," "360 Search," and "360 Security Guard" as traffic entry points. The traditional PC product matrix has been the core of its traffic acquisition and retention [2]. - The PC security product, particularly 360 Security Guard, has maintained a leading user scale, with an average monthly active user count of 430 million. However, the mobile internet wave has captured a significant portion of advertising budgets, with mobile accounting for nearly 89% of internet advertising expenses according to QuestMobile's report [2]. - The company has acknowledged the challenges posed by the shift to mobile internet, which has led to a reduction in the traditional PC advertising market and a risk of declining revenue scale [3]. Group 3: AI Strategy and Product Development - In response to market challenges, the company has deepened its "AI+AI" strategy, focusing on reshaping its business with AI. It continues to iterate on AI-native internet products such as "Nano AI Search" and "360 AI Office" [3]. - According to the AI product rankings published in June 2025, "Nano AI Super Search" ranked first in the "AI Product List - Intelligent Agent List" with a monthly visit count exceeding 150 million. However, there has been a decline in overall monthly active users for Nano AI Search [3]. - The company has made significant R&D investments, with expenditures of 3.129 billion yuan, 3.314 billion yuan, 3.104 billion yuan, and 3.202 billion yuan from 2021 to 2024, and 1.565 billion yuan in the first half of 2025 [3].

Group 1 - Taobao has launched a "desktop version" client for PC devices, featuring an "AI shopping assistant" that offers personalized shopping services based on Qwen3 and DeepSeek [1] - The competition for traffic during the 618 shopping festival has intensified with the entry of new players like Douyin e-commerce and Meituan Flash Purchase, prompting Taobao to focus on the PC segment [4] - The AI PC wave is being driven by major players including Intel, Lenovo, and Microsoft, with a significant increase in AI-related software consumption on PC platforms [5] Group 2 - The global shipment of AI PCs is projected to reach 114 million units by 2025, representing a 165.5% increase from 2024, as the PC becomes a core beneficiary of the AI industrialization wave [5] - The PC is identified as the primary terminal for AI applications due to its superior processing power and ability to handle complex tasks more efficiently than mobile devices [5][12] - 360 Software Manager has become a key player in the PC distribution ecosystem, achieving over 100 million monthly active users and positioning itself as a "super distribution platform" for PC applications [8][10] Group 3 - The PC distribution landscape is evolving, with 360 Software Manager leveraging a "three-ring traffic matrix" to integrate various traffic sources and enhance user acquisition efficiency [10] - The fragmentation of the PC ecosystem has increased the importance of centralized distribution, as developers face challenges in reaching users across diverse platforms [12] - The cost of acquiring users on the PC is significantly lower than on mobile, with PC user acquisition costs being only 53% of mobile costs, making it an attractive market for developers [15][14] Group 4 - 360 Software Manager offers a variety of distribution models, including partnerships and performance-based payment options, allowing developers to efficiently reach their target audiences [17] - The platform has successfully implemented targeted marketing strategies, such as collaborations with Tencent Video, resulting in substantial increases in software exposure and downloads [20] - The rise of AI applications has shifted the focus of software developers towards the PC, as the demand for PC-based AI tools continues to grow [13][14]