China internet major Sogou has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a NASDAQ IPO. The number and dollar amount of ADSs to be offered and sold has not determined yet.
The news became public as Sogou’s parent company US-listed tech giant Sohu announced its Q2 financial report. The report shows that Sohu’s Q2 revenue surged 10 percent YOY to $461 million, of which Sogou accounts for $211 million, up 20 percent YOY.
Sogou’s CEO Wang Xiaochuan confirmed the IPO news in an internal letter (in Chinese), where he stated that the firm would go public on the US stock market as early as market conditions permit.
Sogou, established in 2004, is the developer of China’s most popular Chinese input method service Sogou Pinin which takes more than 60% share in the mobile market. It’s also the operator of China’s top search engine, behind market leader Baidu, providing search service for Tencent’s WeChat social media platform as well as Microsoft’ Bing for English search in China. Company CEO Wang Xiaochuan disclosed in a recent speech that the firm is pivoting its focus to AI-driven search and navigation in the future.
In addition to Sohu, Chinese internet Tencent is also a backer of the company. Tencent, which injected $448 million funding in Sogou in 2013, now controls a 45.3 percent stake in the company as the largest shareholder, while Sohu holds 39.3 percent stake in the firm.