China Post Securities: Big Model APP becomes the first hit in the AI era. The next round of competition will focus on user accumulation and platform transformation.

China Post Securities released a research report stating that the dual-wheel drive of "ToC brand, ToB business" may become industry consensus. The core premise is that ToC establishes brand reputation, acquires and retains users; while platform-based transformation can drive large model manufacturers to expand growth curves from "subscription+API" to "platform revenue sharing". Therefore, the next round of competition will focus on user accumulation and platform-based transformation capabilities. It is recommended to focus on Hong Kong-listed internet companies with entry value, AI Agents with cooperation potential with large model manufacturers for platformization, and scarce computing power links. Key points of China Post Securities: OpenAI: Starting the growth flywheel of "technology-product-user", platform-based transformation upgrades business model OpenAI represents the technological center of the closed-source ecosystem, achieving user growth through "technology-product", with MAU surpassing 1 billion so far. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, through continuous improvement of model capabilities and innovative gameplay, OpenAI has created explosive products, such as the revolutionary multimodal GPT-4o in 2024, Deep Research in 2025, GPT5, Sora 2, etc., leading to accelerated user growth. From the launch of ChatGPT to September 2025, the number of messages sent by ChatGPT users increased by more than 7 times; and from July 2024 to July 2025, the number of messages sent by ChatGPT users increased by more than 5 times. Behind the token growth is higher stickiness, stronger willingness to pay, and longer usage time. OpenAI is transforming from a product-oriented company to a platform-oriented company, with user accumulation forming a strong moat, and revenue expected to grow rapidly. The analysis believes that OpenAI is no longer a product-oriented company, but wants to become the "Windows of the AI era", transforming into a platform-oriented company. By binding key elements of the semiconductor industry chain, OpenAI attempts to build a monopolistic operating system similar to Windows, connecting models with computing power and applications. The business model is also upgraded simultaneously, with revenue not only coming from ToC subscriptions, APIs, etc., but also from increased external collaboration to realize the value of the ToB platform, widening the revenue growth curve. OpenAI expects to reach revenue of $200 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 92% from 2024 to 2030. Domestic internet companies: Accelerate the landing of AI platforms, compete for user access and ecosystem dominance Competition for users: Byte Bean raises its banner high, Tencent Yuanbao benefits from the DS trend. 1) The Bean Bag big model family was officially launched at the Volcano Engine Conference in May 2024, gaining industry recognition with "cost-effective" prices, and later produced star products through internal and external investment flows. In September 2025, Bean Bag's MAU on the app/web side was 150 million and 86 million respectively, with a month-on-month change of +6.44% and 14.14%, ranking among the top domestic AI native applications. 2) Tencent Yuanbao's overall promotion pace was more restrained in 2024, with the MAU of Yuanbao's app/web version lagging behind comparable chatbot products in China; in 2025, riding the trend of DS popularity and promoting the development of Yuanbao, the MAU of Yuanbao achieved a leap in growth. Advantages of domestic platformization: AI access may return to the software ecosystem, Tencent and Byte ecosystem each show their strength. The strong penetration of China's super apps positions them at the AI access, with major internet giants possessing significant traffic advantages, with Tencent and Byte accounting for nearly 60% of the internet user usage time in China. Tencent's WeChat tightly holds the social access, Byte's TikTok controls the content access, which helps Yuanbao and Bean Bag successfully transform into platforms, and platformization transformation helps them raise the commercial ceiling through to B-to-G. Breaking the "disruption theory": Platform-based large models and AI applications co-create a new industrial cycle The analysis concludes that the core value of large models has shifted from "disruptor" to "enabler", and symbiotic cooperation is the optimal path for their platformization evolution. Leading companies like OpenAI achieve technological spillovers through an open ecosystem, while AI application companies leverage industry know-how to implement solutions. Both parties complement each other to drive AI market expansion through "smart infrastructure+scenario insights", with the value of large models upgrading from single-point technological breakthroughs to industrial ecosystem reconstruction. The future core of competition will shift from "strong models" to "strong ecosystems", and the AI industry will accelerate into a new phase of "ecosystem-driven" competition; and the stock performance of OpenAI on the day of cooperation with external manufacturers (Etsy, Figma, etc., saw increases of 6%-16%, with only a few underperforming the Nasdaq), intuitively confirms investors' strong confidence in the win-win symbiosis of large model platforms and vertical scene co-operation modes, further emphasizing the commercial value recognition of the ecological cooperation path. Risk Warning: Unexpected technological iteration, slower-than-expected commercialization progress of domestic AI Agents, inadequate computing power supply, intensifying industry competition risks, etc.