Soulgate Inc., the creator of the dating and social networking app Soul, has applied to be placed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Shanghai team of the firm created the app in 2016, claiming to be an algorithm-driven social, digital playground.
According to documents submitted by Soulgate, they had a deficit of $194 million, with sales of $190 million in 2021. Nonetheless, it has caught the attention of digital giant Tencent, which purchased a 49.9 percent share in the firm beginning in 2020.
The software application outside of China is little-known, yet the app is a forerunner of the social internet’s future. As stated by the firm, Soul’s purpose is to create “a soul’cial metaverse,” which characterizes itself as “an algorithm-driven online social playground.”
However, Soul’s more than one million customers may expose the firm to a data security investigation by China’s dreaded internet department, another legal obstacle with an unknown timescale.
In its most recent Hong Kong listing application, the business said that there “remains significant ambiguity” as to whether it would need to undergo a cyber security examination or get permission from the securities regulator.
After registering with the US Securities and Market Commission to sell the shares on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange, Soulgate stopped its ambitions to list in the US a year ago.
The suspension was fortunate. Just days later, China’s internet regulator began an unprecedented inquiry into Didi and two other data-rich internet businesses that had just sold shares in the United States.
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About SOUL
According to the firm, Tencent-backed social media app Soul, a metaverse dating platform, is a popular app among young people in China. It has a close-knit community with great engagement, a high economic value, and a unique algorithm that drives Soul’s rapid user growth.
The social app allows users to create avatars and communicate in the metaverse. Many of its 32 million users use it for dating. The soul takes pleasure in algorithmically linking people based on their personalities and hobbies, a tactic that ByteDance’s TikTok, which is now one of the most popular applications in the US, also employs.
Unlike typical dating sites, soul users utilize avatars, which commonly resemble Japanese anime, instead of profile images. In addition, there are additional games in the app.
“You don’t have to publish images, so you can simply be yourself in front of complete strangers and say anything you really want to say,” one anonymous user said.
According to the firm, users who sign up for Soul become a “Souler” by establishing a virtual identity with an avatar. The avatar is a representation of the user’s facial emotions and body language. The user is then asked to complete a Myers-Briggs-style personality test. Soul’s algorithm utilizes the results to match users with others who share their interests. Users may communicate with these folks on “Planets,” which are themed around a common interest.
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