In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) stands as one of the most compelling and transformative forces of our time. Over the past few years, its significant impact has pervaded multiple sectors, supporting the idea that we may well be in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This transformation has profound implications for industries ranging from marketing to operations, research and development, and software engineering, where an estimated 75% of the annual value of generative AI use cases currently resides. Recently, the rise of Minglue Technology Ltd., a company also known as Huizhi Holdings, has captured significant attention. This firm has distinguished itself through its robust capabilities in AI-driven marketing and operational technologies. It has recently filed for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a move indicative of its rapid growth and industry leadership positions. According to their submitted prospectus, Minglue's revenues have surged from 1.043 billion yuan in 2021 to 1.462 billion yuan in 2023. The company’s clientele includes not only small businesses but also 135 members of the Fortune 500, engaging them across various industries including retail, consumer goods, food and beverage, automotive, electronics, cosmetics, and maternity products. Transforming Advertising Through Generative AI With the acceleration of production capabilities, competition among brands has emerged as the linchpin of modern business. Central to this competitive arena is the consumer mindset, which marketers must penetrate to ensure their products and messaging resonate. Traditional methods of gauging consumer preferences—advertisements placed within centralized media such as newspapers and television—no longer hold the same sway in an era characterized by rapid internet expansion. Today, any individual or organization can become a medium, leading to a highly fragmented array of information sources that consumers can easily navigate. If advertisers fail to cater to these preferences, they risk being ignored altogether. Consequently, understanding the core needs of consumers and consistently iterating content to align with their tastes has become paramount. While the past decade showcased burgeoning solutions for customer profiling based on user characteristics, the outputs remain limited by the efficiency and precision of content production. As Wu Minghui, the founder of Minglue Technology, aptly put it, “If there is a segmentation of people but not a corresponding variety of content, achieving favorable marketing outcomes becomes a formidable task.” The emergence of generative AI is a solution to this problem, bridging the gap between diverse consumer needs and creative, tailored marketing. The flagship product of Minglue Technology, known as the Miaozhen System, is recognized as the leading marketing intelligence application in China. This tool combines media spending optimization, social media management, and user growth methodologies to enhance the effectiveness of both digital and outdoor advertising. Through the employment of large-scale models, the system effectively comprehends consumer behavior and product characteristics, earning wide endorsement from clients alike. As of December 31, 2023, the Miaozhen System boasts a customer renewal rate exceeding 90% along with a similar success rate for bidding processes. Reimagining Offline Operations with AI Alongside the marketing revolution, AI is reshaping traditional operational models within companies. The key to achieving high-quality growth lies in leveraging AI to drive down costs while enhancing efficiency. This transformation is particularly crucial for brick-and-mortar stores that serve as frontline fronts in market expansion. Minglue Technology’s subsidiary, Mingqi Technology, has independently developed a sophisticated operational system designed specifically for the future of cognitive offline retail. By employing Internet of Things (IoT) technology, data from physical store locations is effectively aggregated and integrated with clients' existing systems. Utilizing its unique industry knowledge graph and proprietary operation model built on industry-specific data, Minglue Technology has created an “intelligent operational brain” for these storefronts, enhancing operational intelligence. The operational brain empowers stores by examining three critical dimensions: people, products, and environmental settings. It enhances understanding of both current and prospective customers, streamlining purchasing processes, boosting supply chain efficiencies, and helping to manage inventory intelligently. Such a cohesive approach fosters the development of low-cost, highly stable store environments. Incorporating diverse data sources—more than 20 distinct types, including video, traffic, route navigation, mobile activities, product distribution, environmental data, live broadcasts, music playback, conversational analyses, and even equipment indicators regarding temperature and humidity—facilitates the extensive training of Minglue's large models. Consequently, this significance in data collection has led to recognition within the food service and retail sectors, with Minglue's operational intelligence solutions being implemented in over 15,000 restaurants and 40,000 retail locations by June 30, 2024. The formation of this vast service network, coupled with the daily operational data accrued, has enabled Minglue Technology to maintain a competitive edge in smart operations, fortified by robust data and sector-specific barriers. Reports from Frost & Sullivan underline that, regarding revenue from operational intelligence application software, Minglue holds the top rank in China. Technical Superiority as Competitive Leverage Whether in marketing intelligence or operational agility, the underlying application of AI technology across diverse business spaces epitomizes the strength of Minglue Technology. What anchors these applications is the company's significant prowess in developing large models, a major asset that enables a range of operational scenarios. Generic large models often lack the honing specific to vertical scenarios, possessing theoretical knowledge but falling short in practical experience. Conversely, specialized models have undergone extensive “professional training” to deliver actionable strategies. With 18 years of experience in both marketing and operational intelligence, Minglue Technology has cultivated comprehensive multimodal data intelligence capabilities, offering the company a unique edge over its competitors. As affirmed by Frost & Sullivan, in 2023, Minglue became the premier Chinese entity to leverage multimodal large language models (MLLM) for smart analysis and strategy generation in social media content. Meeting the market's demand for highly accurate advertisement and content generation comprehension, it introduced cutting-edge technologies such as Hypergraph Multimodal Large Language Model (HMLLM) and Hypergraph Retrieval-Enhanced Generation (HRAG) which can decode non-standard modalities like EEG readings and eye movement signals, thus interpreting consumer sentiment post-viewing. Notably, works associated with HMLLM have garnered nominations for Best Paper at the esteemed Association for Computing Machinery Multimedia Conference 2024 (ACM Multimedia 2024). The company’s alignment with real-world needs has fostered a broad, loyal clientele base. Reports by Bain & Company indicate that retaining existing customers is five to twenty-five times more cost-efficient than acquiring new ones. A high retention rate among large customers effectively reduces customer acquisition costs while simultaneously augmenting trust in subsequent engagements across sectors. Minglue Technology's client retention rates improved significantly from 82.5% in 2021 to 93.1% in 2023, underscoring its technical capability as a pivotal pull factor for repeated engagements. As of June 30, 2024, Minglue's portfolio was bolstered by 2,057 patents and 953 pending applications, alongside accolades exceeding 400 from national and international awards. Moreover, it stands as the sole company in China recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology for spearheading the establishment of a "National Open Innovation Platform for the Next Generation of Artificial Intelligence" within the marketing intelligence arena. This adds to its prestige, having won the Wu Wenjun Artificial Intelligence Science and Technology Prize—among the most esteemed honors representing AI technological innovation in China. Conclusion The digital wave is fundamentally reshaping the contours of industries through AI technology. As advancements continue and application scenarios proliferate, Minglue Technology leverages its powerful data processing capabilities and continuously evolving large model technologies to deliver comprehensive empowerment, extending from marketing to operations. Whether through marketing intelligence or operational enhancements, generative AI has commenced its transformative journey within enterprises. With 18 years of deep engagement in artificial intelligence and big data technology, bolstered by extensive model-tech innovations and specific industry insights, Minglue Technology maintains its pioneering status within its field.
Leave a Reply