China's biggest platform for licensed images has filed for a Hong Kong listing as it tries to reposition itself as a provider of AI-enabled design services

image credit: Bamboo Works

Key Takeaways:

  • The company's core revenue from content licensing fell 14% last year, slipping below 70% of overall turnover
  • Visual China hit the headlines in 2019 when it tried to charge for a landmark scientific image that had been issued as free for general use

Generative AI is disrupting creative industries across the board, and the business of sourcing visual content is no exception.

Whether for news coverage, corporate marketing or advertising campaigns, businesses have traditionally obtained images through platforms such as Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) and Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK). But the rapid adoption of AI-powered tools has meant that many users are opting to create their own images, without the help of a go-between.

Still, the stalwarts of the licensed image industry believe their extensive content libraries remain a store of value, as they reposition themselves as integrated platforms offering content assets and AI capabilities. This strategy lies at the heart of an IPO pitch by China's biggest provider of stock images, Visual China Group Co. Ltd. (000681.SZ), which wants to raise money to invest in its AI services.

The founder of Visual China, Chai Jijun, started out as a photojournalist at China Youth Daily before getting into the business of content licensing.

In 2016, the company acquired the image licensing division of Corbis, the photo agency founded by Bill Gates, gaining access to an international portfolio of copyrighted content. It later added the photographer community 500px and obtained a controlling stake in Chengdu Guangchang Creative Technology, building a content ecosystem spanning images, videos, audio and 3D models.

By the end of 2025, the company managed more than 700 million content assets, working with over 800,000 contributors and maintaining partnerships with 300 copyright agencies. According to third-party research cited in the prospectus, it ranked first in China's market for visual content licensing by revenue last year, serving advertising agencies, tech giants, government agencies and small businesses.

But the company has faced controversy over its commercial practices and copyright enforcement. In 2019 a scandal erupted after Visual China listed an image of a black hole that had been issued free for general use by the scientific team behind the Event Horizon Telescope. The move sparked debate over whether a commercial platform should be able to profit from a publicly shared asset.

The company's long-standing copyright enforcement model also came under scrutiny, with media reports that some users were being turned into paying customers after receiving infringement notices. The company was accused of developing a business model in which enforcement drove licensing revenue. Visual China argued that it was safeguarding the rights of content creators, saying its core business was copyright protection and licensing. Internet regulators weighed in, interviewing company executives and temporarily shutting down the service for what was called a rectification process.

Fewer big customers

The controversy highlighted a heavy reliance on content licensing, which remains the company's main revenue source. According to the listing application, annual revenue from content licensing services totaled 575 million yuan ($85 million) in 2023, rising to 610 million yuan a year later but falling 14% to 524 million yuan last year. The share of total revenue from content licensing fell from 75% to 67%, as tighter marketing budgets and AI use changed procurement patterns.

The number of clients regarded as key accounts fell 7.5% from 2023 to 2025, from 17,244 to 15,956. Earnings have also come under pressure, with gross margin slipping from 51.2% in 2023 to 41.7% in 2025, while net profit dropped from 154 million yuan to 92.67 million yuan.

With its business under pressure, Visual China has been searching for new growth drivers, such as customized content. Corporate clients can get a service package with

graphic design, video production and branded communications content. Revenue from the segment surged from 152 million yuan in 2023 to 209 million yuan in 2025, with the share of overall revenue rising from 19.4% to 26.9%. Rather than purchasing individual images, clients are increasingly buying integrated content solutions that include advertising design, short-form videos and AI-generated content.

The company has also begun expanding into AI training services, offering data collection, cleansing, annotation, rights verification and licensing. It has also invested in a developer of large language models, MiniMax (0100.HK). If AI models increasingly need to be trained on legally sourced and verifiable data, Visual China's extensive portfolio of copyrighted content could regain a strategic value.

Whether Visual China can win over Hong Kong investors remains uncertain. On the Shenzhen market, the company is valued at about 15 billion yuan and trades at roughly 50 times earnings. Yet its share price has risen just 11% over the past 52 weeks, suggesting investors remain cautious about its AI transformation.

Getty Images has also been moving aggressively into AI licensing and data training and is planning to merge with Shutterstock to form an international powerhouse in visual content. Visual China offers a vast library of Chinese content and deep expertise in local copyright matters. But it remains to be seen whether investors will value the company as a traditional provider of content licensing or as a supplier of AI data services.

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Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.