Nomura published a research report stating that, Doubao, the most popular consumer AI chatbot in mainland China under ByteDance, launched a subscription plan on May 4 with four tiers: a basic free version, a standard version at RMB68 per month, an enhanced version at RMB200 per month, and a professional version at RMB500 per month.

This marks the first time a major AI chatbot in mainland China has introduced a paid subscription plan. The broker believed the move carries significant implications for the overall AI chatbot market. Doubao maintains a leading position in the mainland consumer AI chatbot market, with 133 million DAUs in March, way beyond the 29 million of Tongyi Qianwen under BABA-W (09988.HK)  -5.600 (-4.061%)    Short selling $1.91B; Ratio 15.870%   . As the user base and usage time grow rapidly, the free model may result in mounting cost pressures, prompting ByteDance to roll out the subscription plan.

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Nomura said it remains uncertain whether Doubao's competitors, including Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA.US)      , DeepSeek and TENCENT (00700.HK)  +1.500 (+0.330%)    Short selling $1.56B; Ratio 12.851%   , will follow suit, but it expects the entire market to eventually transition to a subscription model. After recently adjusting its strategy for Tongyi Qianwen, Alibaba may prioritize the development of more commercializable agent-based models. Within the mainland internet sector, Nomura maintained its Buy ratings on Alibaba (BABA.US)      , TENCENT (00700.HK)  +1.500 (+0.330%)    Short selling $1.56B; Ratio 12.851%   and J&T EXPRESS-W (01519.HK)  -0.110 (-1.176%)    Short selling $28.98M; Ratio 16.598%   .
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