GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LIZHI INC. (“LIZHI” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: LIZI), an audio-based social and entertainment platform, today released a letter to shareholders from the Company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jinnan (Marco) Lai.

Dear LIZHI Shareholders,

While it feels like only yesterday, it’s now been three years since LIZHI listed on the Nasdaq. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude for your continued support and trust, which is our biggest motivation as we march on. Despite the unprecedented challenges we’ve faced against the backdrop of a complex macroeconomic environment in 2022, we still delivered stellar results, thanks to the persistent efforts of our colleagues and the great support from our partners. We turned a profit for four consecutive quarters, from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022, demonstrating a marked improvement in our profitability compared to the year prior.

So what did we do to achieve such solid performance in 2022? First of all, we worked tirelessly to elevate our overall operating efficiency and continued to strengthen the development of our versatile technology platform, launching our brand-new multi-dimensional operational systems. By optimizing our operational processes and continuously developing and iterating our operational systems, we’ve significantly improved our operating efficiency and continued to effectively provide our users with the best services possible. In addition, by progressively strengthening our in-house support platform and operational system, we aim to establish a solid operational foundation and reduce operating costs while sharpening our edge on efficiency.

In 2022, we launched our multi-dimensional operational support system and unveiled our in-house hybrid cloud computing platform, Voice Cloud. Voice Cloud helps to advance product R&D, marketing and operations management by integrating our operational systems, thus improving our overall operating efficiency. For example, our iRock platform, a hybrid cloud architecture we launched within Voice Cloud, enables a unified platform through which we can provide more flexible, secure and reliable cloud services for our business. In addition, our business intelligence platform, Star Analytics, aims to propel our data-driven business development through automated and refined intelligent data analysis. We also integrated our intelligent marketing platform with our marketing team to help us design a more precise marketing strategy. On the product end, we established a unified content creator management platform dedicated to supporting mid- and long-tail content creators. This unique platform helps to unlock additional value and greater creativity from high-quality creators, further facilitating content development and business growth. Going forward, we will continue to strengthen the development of our versatile technology platform and core operational system, believing these are some of the best ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

In 2022, we also established various business units specializing in leveraging institutional knowledge, gathering experts across various company functions to circulate and apply their accumulated expertise and methodologies across our business teams. As a company develops, the most valuable experience often stays with the best performing personnel. Even if some of that experience is documented through written reviews or recaps, most of this documentation remains in company files and is rarely distributed throughout the organization or adopted in practice. After we set up our new dedicated business units, leaders summarized their proven methodologies and began implementing them among our various teams, which has produced exceptional results. As time goes by and our team continues to advance, so will our shared treasure trove of proven methodologies, enabling our employees to learn and develop quickly. We believe that over time, this accumulated knowledge will become an invaluable and powerful asset for the Company.

We were also pleasantly surprised in 2022 by the fast growth and development of the fresh graduates we recruited and nurtured over the past two years. Many of them are now important members of their teams and key contributors to the Company. We have not only meticulously recruited young graduates that identify with our corporate culture, possess tremendous potential and are willing to work hard, but also offered them comprehensive training and a broad array of practical opportunities to facilitate their rapid growth in the Company. Their performance and contributions to LIZHI have far exceeded our expectations. These smart, diligent and talented young people, who are always eager to learn, are worthy of our long-term trust and continued investment in their professional development.

In 2022, we updated our mission and vision: “To be the world’s biggest audio platform. Using sound to make people feel closer and live happier.” Meanwhile, we launched our principles of conduct to inform everyone in the Company of the philosophies we share at work.

Having read books written by executives running century-old enterprises, and having also consulted with many of them, I came to realize that transparency is a key principle for these firms. They consistently seek ways to maintain transparency in an enterprise. In this case, “transparency” does not refer to releasing corporate operating data, but rather, it means clarifying a company’s corporate mission, vision, values and principles of conduct to every employee in their day-to-day work. This is essential to enduring and powerful corporate management.

After two years of discussions and deliberations, our team decided to update our mission and vision statements. Building on our passion for sound, we believe our new corporate mission and vision will propel us to generate greater value for our global user base and, furthermore, inspire us to press on enthusiastically. We aim to provide our users worldwide with online audio communication services anytime and anywhere, bringing them closer and creating more happiness in their lives. As our voices are our most emotion-rich means of communication, we hope our technologies can help people to feel closer to each other without being bound by geographical constraints. Guided by this vision, we will continue launching more innovative products and enriching our product portfolio.

Heading into 2023, we still face some difficulties and challenges. We will need to continue adapting to a tough macro-environment to develop our business over the next few years. We hope to maintain a healthy cash flow and lower operating costs while improving LIZHI’s performance and bolstering innovation, forging ahead relentlessly toward our mission and vision. We look forward to your continued support. Thank you!

I wish you all a happy New Year!

Sincerely yours,

Jinnan (Marco) Lai

Founder and CEO of LIZHI

January, 2023

About LIZHI INC.
LIZHI INC. has created a comprehensive audio-based social ecosystem with a global presence. The Company aims to cater to users’ interests in audio entertainment and social networking through its product portfolio. LIZHI INC. envisions an audio ecosystem where everyone can be connected and interact through voices. LIZHI INC. has been listed on Nasdaq since January 2020.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “target,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
LIZHI INC.
IR Department
Tel: +86 (20) 3866-4265
E-mail: ir@lizhi.fm

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Jenny Cai
Tel: +86 (10) 6508-0677
E-mail: Lizhi@tpg-ir.com

In the United States:
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
E-mail: Lizhi@tpg-ir.com