New Stock Preview | The cost of the "matchmaking economy", can Meilan Technology support emotional social IPO?

In the current online social field dominated by "fast food" experiences in the "fast-track era", a platform company specializing in online emotional social interaction - Mlian Technology, recently submitted an application for listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As a leading online emotional social platform company in China, Mlian Technology, with its innovative host user-guided three-party interaction mode and relationship chain data-driven algorithm, has successfully found a high-growth path in the crowded field and achieved impressive performance turning losses into profits. However, behind the high-growth performance, the high concentration of revenue on core products and the compliance and user complaint controversies caused by the unique business model have become the company's B-side, and also the "shadow" that investors must face when assessing the long-term value of the company. Exclusive "matchmaking" model: Growth engine behind the outbreak of performance From a financial performance perspective, from 2022 to 2024, Mlian Technology's revenue increased from 1.052 billion to 2.373 billion yuan, with a 129.5% increase in 2024 compared to 2023, showing an acceleration beyond the industry average level. In the first half of 2025, the company's income continued to grow rapidly, reaching 1.917 billion, indicating that the annual performance is expected to achieve another milestone breakthrough. In terms of profitability, the company successfully transitioned from losses to profits, achieving a net profit of 146 million yuan in 2024 after recording annual losses in 2022 and 2023. In the first half of 2025, the company's net profit further increased to 262 million yuan, demonstrating strong cash efficiency and profit resilience. The core of this growth logic lies in the "host user-guided three-party video interaction mode" created by its flagship product YiDui. This model perfectly solves the pain points of "ice-breaking difficulty" and "lack of confidence" that exist in the online social interaction of China's sinking market and lower-tier city users. It is understood that YiDui introduces a "matchmaker" role (the host user), who organizes video chats, guides topics, and matches relationships, integrating traditional live streaming, matchmaking, and social networks effectively, providing users with an organized, immersive, and efficient social scene. This model greatly increases user engagement and forms a deep social barrier that distinguishes it from general entertainment social products. According to the report of Zhoushi Consulting, for the six months ended June 30, 2025, YiDui ranked first in several key operational indicators in the Chinese online emotional social industry, demonstrating extremely strong user stickiness: the monthly average usage time of monthly active users reached 8.0 hours, far exceeding the industry's top ten average of 3.2 hours; the seven-day retention rate reached 72.1%, significantly higher than the industry average of 53.3%; and the monthly active users started an average of 119.6 times per month, double the industry average of 55.2 times. These high-stickiness indicators directly strong revenue realization capabilities. It is understood that almost all of Mlian Technology's revenue comes from value-added services, mainly in the form of revenue sharing from virtual gifts given by users during social interactions. This efficient realization mechanism is the key to the company's "profit growth". In addition, Mlian Technology's diversified product layout through TieTie (voice social) and overseas product matrix (targeting Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc.) also provides multi-dimensional support and strategic space for future sustained growth. Looking at the market prospects, the global online emotional social market where the company is located has tremendous growth potential, with the market size expected to grow from 49.9 billion yuan in 2024 to 155.9 billion yuan in 2029. Among them, the Chinese market, as the world's largest single market, is expected to grow to 75.7 billion yuan during the same period, providing a broad market foundation and continuous growth momentum for Mlian Technology's business model innovation. B-side surfacing: Model controversies, compliance challenges, and structural vulnerabilities emerging While the high-speed growth in financial data highlights Mlian Technology's strong growth potential, the compliance disputes and operational risks arising from its unique business model have also become substantial challenges for investors in assessing its intrinsic value and long-term stability. The core risk of Mlian Technology also stems from the underlying logic of its highly monetized model - the "host user-guided" mechanism. According to the prospectus, hosts can earn a share of the revenue from gifts given by users, and this economic incentive mechanism, while increasing platform activity, also brings significant risks of inducing consumption. In practice, due to direct interest relationships, "matchmaker" users may engage in behaviors of excessively inducing or urging users (especially those with strong payment capabilities) to give gifts and top-up. It has been learned that the "YiDui" app has long been facing a large number of complaints about "inducing consumption", "false blind dates" and "services not matching the promotion" on third-party complaint platforms and in public reports, some involving large amounts of recharging. Although Mlian Technology emphasizes in the prospectus that regulatory measures have been taken, the conflict between the incentive tied directly to the platform economic interests makes it difficult to fundamentally eliminate the controversy of inducing consumption, and it may continue to have a negative impact on the company's reputation and user trust. For a company whose core business is "emotional matchmaking", reputation risk is undoubtedly its greatest intangible asset threat. Moreover, the potential laxity in verifying user identity authenticity on the platform may lead to the occurrence of illegal activities such as false information and matrimonial fraud, directly challenging the company's risk control capabilities and platform responsibilities. With the continued tightening of China's internet regulatory environment, especially regarding regulations in areas involving matrimony, virtual rewards, data security, user privacy protection, and content screening, there may be potential structural shocks to the company's operating model. The company also mentioned in the prospectus that if relevant laws and regulations impose stricter requirements on virtual gifts, induced consumption, or content screening, the operational performance of its core products YiDui and TieTie may be significantly adversely affected, leading to operational restrictions or administrative penalties and other adverse consequences. In addition, in terms of financial structure, Mlian Technology's revenue is highly concentrated on its two core products, YiDui and TieTie. While this reflects the market competitiveness of core products, it also means that the company's risk resistance is relatively weak. Once the core products undergo any adverse changes due to intensified market competition, policy adjustments, or negative public opinion, the overall financial and operational performance of the company will suffer significant impacts without sufficient diversified income sources for effective cushioning. Conclusion In summary, Mlian Technology has achieved explosive growth with its innovative online emotional social platform business model, and its unique "matchmaker" model has built strong barriers in user stickiness and revenue generation. However, investors must also be aware that behind its high growth are high revenue concentration, business model controversies related to "inducing consumption", and increasingly strict regulatory compliance risks. In the future, investors will still need to pay attention to whether the company can effectively address user complaints and compliance issues while maintaining the revenue generation capabilities of its core business model, and continuously strengthen its own characteristics in the fierce market competition.