36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at how a major New Economy media player is adapting to the AI shift, and honestly, the changes at 36Kr Holdings Inc. are worth a close look. After a strategic pivot in late 2025, the company is clearly focusing on tech-driven revenue, evidenced by AI-related advertising growing over 50% year-over-year, even as they aggressively cut costs-operating expenses dropped to just RMB55.9 million in H1 2025. With a massive base of 36.6 million followers and a new focus on AI intelligence products, understanding their nine building blocks shows you exactly where their RMB74.5 million in H1 advertising revenue is coming from and where the next growth engine is being built. Dive in below to see the full Business Model Canvas mapping this transformation.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the structure of 36Kr Holdings Inc.'s alliances as of late 2025, which is critical for understanding how they generate revenue and deliver value in the New Economy space. The partnerships are the engine driving their content and enterprise service expansion, especially in the AI sector.

Here's a breakdown of the key alliances you asked about, grounded in the latest available figures from the first half of 2025.

Hangzhou Tiantang Group for global expansion services.

Specific financial metrics tied directly to the Hangzhou Tiantang Group partnership for global expansion services weren't explicitly detailed in the H1 2025 reports. However, the overall strategy relies on leveraging brand influence to capture high growth potentials in China's New Economy, which is the foundation for any future global push.

Doubao AI as exclusive technology/finance media partner.

While the exclusivity isn't confirmed, the deep collaboration with ByteDance's AI ecosystem is a major factor. Advertising revenue derived from AI and large-model offerings saw significant growth, indicating a successful media partnership in this domain. This is a clear focus area for 36Kr Holdings Inc.

• Advertising revenue from AI/large-model offerings grew by over 50% year-over-year in H1 2025.
• The underlying technology partner, Doubao, reported monthly active users exceeding 150 million as of late 2025.
• ByteDance's Doubao Mobile Assistant, co-developed with ZTE, launched at a price point of 3,499 yuan.

Robotics companies for Future Plus exhibition co-creation.

36Kr Holdings Inc. actively co-creates content and events around future technology, including robotics. The WAIC 2025 event, where 36Kr co-hosted the 'KrTalk Future' live-streaming room, showcased the scale of this focus.

• The WAIC 2025 exhibition area exceeded 70,000 square meters.
• The event featured more than 60 intelligent robots on display.
• Executives from robotics-adjacent companies like Casiahand Robotics participated in the 2025 AI Partner Conference.

Government entities fostering urban industrial transformation.

The focus on 'industrial implementation' and 'future industries' suggests alignment with national and regional development goals, though specific financial contributions or joint project values with government entities weren't itemized in the H1 2025 results.

Upstream/downstream industry projects for deep collaboration.

The revenue breakdown itself shows the result of deep collaboration across various industry projects, moving beyond pure media into value-added services. The company's strategy involves scaling these industrial services to help achieve break-even.

The financial performance for the first half of 2025 illustrates the impact of these service expansions:

The content ecosystem itself is a partnership success, with total followers reaching 36.6 million as of June 30, 2025, a 9.9% increase from June 30, 2024. That's 17 consecutive quarters of growth.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core actions 36Kr Holdings Inc. is taking to drive its business in late 2025, based on their H1 2025 performance. The focus is clearly shifting toward higher-margin, technology-enabled services, which is reflected in their cost structure changes.

Developing AI-powered content and data products.

This activity is central to their strategy for new growth. They are commercializing AI products and aim to deepen this moat in the second half of 2025. The market response to their AI-focused content is already showing up in revenue quality.

• Advertising revenue from AI/large-model offerings expanded by over 50% year-over-year in the first half of 2025.
• The company is prioritizing the commercialization of AI products for the second half of 2025.

Producing high-quality New Economy-focused content.

Maintaining and growing the content ecosystem remains a foundational activity, evidenced by continued follower growth across their platforms. This scale supports their advertising and service offerings.

• Total followers reached 36.6 million as of June 30, 2025, marking 17 consecutive quarters of growth.
• This represented a 9.9% increase from 33.3 million followers as of June 30, 2024.
• WeChat Channels followers surged by 69% year-over-year.
• Followers of the "Waves" official account expanded by 44% year-over-year.

Organizing large-scale industry events like WAVES and AI Partner Summit.

These Intellectual Property (IP) events are key for industry engagement and commercialization avenues. They bring together capital players, entrepreneurs, and AI leaders.

• The "WAVES" conference and the 2025 AI Partner Summit each achieved over 100 million views in the first half of 2025.
• The 2024 AI Partner event attracted more than 1,500 industry practitioners.
• The 2025 AI Partner Conference in April focused on the theme "The Super App is Coming."

Providing enterprise value-added consulting and training.

36Kr Holdings Inc. is actively refining this segment to focus on margin improvement, even though top-line revenue in this area saw a slight dip. They are scaling industrial services as a strategic initiative.

Here's a look at the financial results for the services that include consulting and training for the first half of 2025:

Strategic workforce optimization and cost control measures.

This has been a critical activity, directly impacting profitability inflection. The company has been aggressive in cutting overhead to achieve better margins.

The results of these cost controls are stark:

• Operating expenses dropped by 52.3% to RMB55.9 million (US$7.8 million) in H1 2025, down from RMB117.0 million in H1 2024.
• General and administrative expenses decreased by 68.2% to RMB20.0 million (US$2.8 million) in H1 2025, from RMB62.8 million in H1 2024.
• Gross profit margin improved by 10 percentage points year-over-year to 54.4% in H1 2025, driven by savings in payroll-related costs.

Net loss narrowed sharply by 95% to just RMB4.8 million (US$0.7 million) in H1 2025.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets that power 36Kr Holdings Inc.'s operations as of late 2025. These aren't just abstract concepts; they are measurable components driving their New Economy focus.

The prominent brand influence in China's New Economy sector is a foundational resource, supporting their ability to generate revenue across advertising, enterprise services, and subscriptions. This influence is validated by sustained audience growth, which is a key metric for any media-centric platform.

The sheer scale of the audience is a massive asset, consistently growing for 17 consecutive quarters as of June 30, 2025. This reach is distributed across multiple channels, making the content ecosystem a critical resource.

The comprehensive database and strong data analytics capabilities underpin the AI platforms and enterprise services. While specific database size isn't public, the application of this data is seen in their AI product performance. For instance, advertising revenue derived from AI/large-model offerings grew by over 50% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, showing the commercial value of their data and analytical insights.

The AI technology platforms, specifically Corporate Omni Intelligence, represent a significant proprietary resource. As of the first half of 2025, this platform covered over 7,800 public companies listed in Mainland China and Hong Kong. This data asset is monetized through a cumulative user base of 25,000 users, which includes 4,220 paying subscribers. Furthermore, the launch of their AI agent on Doubao resulted in a consistent 10% weekly increase in user interactions during the period.

The experienced content creation and event management teams translate brand influence into tangible, high-view assets. You can see the output in their event performance:

• 'WAVES' event in H1 2025 achieved over 100 million views.
• The 2025 AI Partner Summit also achieved over 100 million views.
• Omni Channel live streaming garnered over 1.04 million views in total, accumulating over 80 million views across platforms.
• A single retail channels live stream session gained 175,000 live views and 151,000 likes.

These teams are also responsible for maintaining the quality that supports the platform's improved financial efficiency; the gross profit margin reached 54.4% in H1 2025, an increase of 10 percentage points year-over-year.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

36Kr Holdings Inc. provides specific value to participants in China's New Economy, focusing on information, intelligence, and enablement.

Empowering New Economy participants to achieve more. This core mission is supported by a content ecosystem that, as of June 30, 2025, boasted over 36.57 million followers, marking a 9.9% increase year-over-year and 17 consecutive quarters of growth. The platform's reach is expanding across specialized channels; for instance, the Company's WeChat Channels followers surged by 69% year-over-year.

The delivery of invaluable, specialized insights into industry trends and ventures is evident in content performance metrics. In the first half of 2025, under the 36Kr official account alone, 339,000 articles achieved over 100,000 page views. Furthermore, specific high-impact content, such as a feature on the innovative pharmaceutical sector, garnered over 70,000 page views on its official WeChat account and more than 100,000 total exposures. The visibility of key events is also substantial, with both "WAVES" and the 2025 AI Partner Summit each achieving over 100 million views.

For corporate intelligence, 36Kr Holdings Inc. offers AI-driven corporate intelligence covering over 7,800 public companies. The 36Kr Corporate Omni Intelligence service, launched in October 2024, targets secondary market investors by providing AI-powered daily sentiment analysis reports for over 7,800 public companies listed in Mainland China and Hong Kong. By the first half of 2025, this service had a cumulative user base of 25,000 individuals, which included 4,220 paying subscribers. Separately, the AI meeting coverage, which enhances startup coverage, has covered 993 companies to date.

The value proposition extends to being a platform for corporate global expansion and industrial transformation. This is reflected in the financial contribution from related services. Revenues from enterprise value-added services were RMB 12.2 million (US$1.7 million) in the first half of 2025. Additionally, advertising revenue specifically from AI/large-model offerings expanded by over 50% year-over-year in H1 2025, showing strong commercial traction in emerging tech areas.

Finally, the company delivers diverse content tailored for younger, tech-aware audiences. This focus translates into tangible revenue growth from specialized channels. Revenue from sub-vertical media channels catering to younger audiences grew by 30% year-over-year in the first half of 2025.

Here's a quick look at the quantitative aspects of these value drivers for the first half of 2025:

You're looking to understand where the value is being generated right now; it's clearly shifting toward the intelligence and specialized industrial services, even as the core content base remains strong.

The key content engagement figures for H1 2025 include:

• WeChat Channels followers growth: 69% year-over-year.
• "Waves" official account follower expansion: 44% year-over-year.
• Views for "WAVES" and 2025 AI Partner Summit: Over 100 million each.
• Articles over 100,000 page views (Official Account H1 2025): 339,000.
• Omni Intelligence Subscribers: 4,220 in H1 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how 36Kr Holdings Inc. keeps its audience and clients engaged, which is crucial when revenue streams like advertising are shifting. The relationship strategy focuses on a mix of dedicated, high-touch support for big clients and scalable digital access for the broader base.

Dedicated enterprise service teams for value-added clients

For your top-tier enterprise clients, 36Kr Holdings Inc. deploys dedicated service teams, which is a classic high-touch approach to secure and grow high-value contracts. This segment, which includes integrated marketing, advertisement agency work, and consulting, saw revenues of RMB 12.2 million (US$1.7 million) in the first half of 2025. Honestly, that was a slight dip from RMB 13.4 million in the same period last year, but management noted this was due to a proactive refinement of service offerings, strategically focusing on margin improvement. You can see this commitment in their stable partnerships with major players like Alibaba, ByteDance, JD.com, Huawei, and Lenovo, especially where advertising revenue from AI/large-model offerings grew by over 50% year-over-year in H1 2025.

Digital self-service via subscription platforms

The digital self-service model is anchored by subscription platforms, which provide scalable access to specialized data and insights. For institutional users, 36Kr Corporate Omni Intelligence covers over 7,800 public companies, and as of the first half of 2025, the cumulative user base for this intelligence platform was 25,000, which included 4,220 subscribers. Revenue from subscription services overall was RMB 6.4 million (US$0.9 million) for the first six months of 2025. This was lower than the RMB 8.6 million from the prior year, primarily because of changes made to the training services business model, which is a clear signal they are pruning lower-margin activities.

High-touch interaction through industry events and summits

High-touch interaction remains a key relationship driver, often tied to their industrial services expansion. For instance, in the first half of 2025, 36Kr Holdings Inc. hosted a total of 11 events specifically focused on global expansion. This was part of a larger initiative, like the Chinese Enterprise International Services Center Operations project, where they partnered with Hangzhou Tiantang New Era Construction and Investment Group company. These events help cement relationships with key decision-makers in the New Economy space.

Omni-channel engagement via social media and video platforms

The broad reach is maintained through extensive omni-channel engagement. As of June 30, 2025, the total number of followers across their platforms reached 36.6 million. That's a solid 9.9% increase compared to the 33.3 million followers they had on June 30, 2024, marking 17 consecutive quarters of growth. They are clearly pushing content across diverse distribution channels, including significant growth noted on WeChat Channels.

Here's a quick look at how the key revenue-generating customer interaction points stacked up in the first half of 2025:

You should note that the strategy in H1 2025 was clearly about quality over volume in some areas, evidenced by the revenue dips in enterprise and subscription services alongside a sharp 52.3% drop in total operating expenses. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, but for enterprise services, the focus is clearly on high-margin, stable relationships, which is why they are refining offerings.

• Dedicated enterprise teams service key partners like Alibaba and Huawei.
• Subscription platform user base included 4,220 paying subscribers in H1 2025.
• Total followers reached 36.6 million as of June 30, 2025.
• Hosted 11 high-touch global expansion events in H1 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how 36Kr Holdings Inc. gets its content and services in front of its New Economy audience as of the middle of 2025. It's a multi-pronged approach, moving well beyond just the main website.

The reach across digital platforms is substantial, underpinning the entire distribution strategy.

• Diverse social media platforms: Footprint expanded across Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Toutiao, Zhihu, Bilibili, Douyin, and Kuaishou.
• Proprietary website and mobile application: Serves as the hub, including the investor relations website for webcasts and replays.

Here's a quick look at the scale across these key digital touchpoints based on the first half of 2025 results.

The Corporate Omni Intelligence platform is a direct-to-business channel, leveraging the content traffic for premium data services.

• Corporate Omni Intelligence subscription platform: Currently covers over 7,800 public companies listed in Mainland China and Hong Kong.
• The cumulative user base reached 25,000, which included 4,220 paying subscribers in the first half of 2025.

36Kr Holdings Inc. also uses high-profile events to drive engagement and showcase its retail/commerce capabilities.

The company launched its first robust themed exhibition, Future Plus, at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo 2025 in partnership with 5 robotics companies. This feeds directly into their commerce-focused channels.

These live-streamed events are a key part of the retail channel strategy, converting content visibility into commerce interaction.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the client base for 36Kr Holdings Inc. as of the middle of 2025. This isn't just about eyeballs; it's about who is paying for the platform's content and services, which is heavily weighted toward business clients in China's technology and industrial sectors.

The core audience is defined by their participation in China's New Economy, which includes everything from cutting-edge tech to firms undergoing significant digital transformation. The company explicitly states its mission is to serve these New Economy participants, leveraging its brand influence and data analytics capabilities.

Here's a look at the paying customer base based on the first half of 2025 financial disclosures:

The platform's reach extends far beyond paying clients, encompassing a massive audience base. As of June 30, 2025, 36Kr Holdings Inc. reported having over 36.6 million followers, showing a 9.9% increase year-over-year from June 30, 2024. That's a lot of people you need to keep engaged.

The focus on specific high-growth areas is clear in the advertising revenue mix. You see direct evidence of targeting specific, high-value segments:

• New Economy companies and startups in China.
• Traditional companies seeking digital and industrial upgrades.
• Advertisers in the AI and large language model segments.
• Government entities focused on urban industrial development.
• Individual investors and younger, tech-interested audiences.

The growth in AI advertising spend is a key indicator of where the high-value advertisers are focusing their budget. Advertising revenue from AI/large-model offerings expanded by over 50% year-over-year in the first half of 2025. Also, revenue from sub-vertical media channels aimed at younger audiences grew 30% year-over-year, showing a dual focus on both enterprise tech and consumer trends.

For the enterprise side, the average revenue per enterprise value-added services end customer was approximately RMB249,500 (in RMB thousands) for the first half of 2025. This suggests that the 49 enterprise clients are high-value partners, likely including those traditional companies you mentioned looking for industrial upgrades, which the company is now prioritizing for margin improvement.

Regarding individual audiences, while the number of individual subscribers for subscription services was not reported for the six months ended June 30, 2025, the overall follower growth to 36.6 million confirms the platform remains a major source of tech-focused content for the broader, younger, and tech-interested public.

Finance: review the Q3 2025 customer acquisition cost against the average revenue per advertising customer by end of Q4.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the cost side of the 36Kr Holdings Inc. equation for late 2025, and honestly, the story is all about aggressive cost discipline. The company has clearly prioritized efficiency to accelerate its path toward break-even, which is a smart move given the macro pressures on media platforms.

Cost of revenue was reported at RMB42.5 million for the first half of 2025 (H1 2025). That's a notable drop, specifically a 25.4% decrease compared to the RMB56.9 million recorded in the same period of 2024, a direct result of strict cost control measures the company implemented. This reduction in the cost to deliver services directly helped the gross margin improve significantly.

The most striking figure here is the significant operating expense reduction to RMB55.9 million for H1 2025. This represents a massive 52.3% decrease from the RMB117.0 million in operating expenses seen in H1 2024. This wasn't just trimming fat; this was a strategic overhaul of spending.

Here's a quick look at how those major operating expense buckets shifted in the first half of 2025:

• The total operating expenses fell to RMB55.9 million in H1 2025.
• Sales and marketing expenses dropped by 35.1% to RMB29.4 million.
• General and administrative expenses saw the steepest cut, falling 68.2% to RMB20.0 million.
• Research and development expenses were RMB6.4 million, down 27.1%.

The focus on payroll-related costs following strategic workforce optimization is central to this story. Savings in payroll were explicitly cited as driving the improvement in gross margin. Furthermore, both Sales and Marketing expenses and General and Administrative expenses saw decreases directly attributable to lower payroll-related expenses. This suggests headcount reduction was a primary lever pulled across the organization.

For technology and R&D expenses for AI product development, the spend was RMB6.4 million in H1 2025. While this is a reduction of 27.1% year-over-year, the company noted this was due to restructuring the R&D team and a decrease in the average compensation level for personnel. So, even while focusing on AI, they managed to lower the absolute cost base for that function.

Regarding office rent and facility costs (reduced by relocation), the search results confirm that a decrease in rental expense contributed to the reduction in Sales and Marketing expenses. More broadly, the company attributed its success in expense control to strategic cost-management actions, including relocation to lower-rent offices, which is a concrete, real-life action impacting the fixed cost structure.

To give you a clearer picture of the expense structure changes, look at this comparison:

The G&A line item, in particular, shows the impact of the cost-cutting, dropping from RMB62.8 million to RMB20.0 million, which also included a decrease in the allowance for doubtful accounts. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core ways 36Kr Holdings Inc. brings in cash as of late 2025. The first half of 2025 showed total revenues hitting RMB93.2 million.

The revenue mix is definitely shifting, focusing on quality over sheer volume, which you can see when you break down the numbers from the six months ended June 30, 2025.

The online advertising services remain the biggest piece, bringing in RMB74.5 million in the first half of 2025, though this was a slight dip from RMB80.4 million in the same period last year. The company is actively refining its customer structure here to manage credit risk, so that plays a part in the scope.

What's really interesting is the growth in the AI segment. Advertising revenue specifically from AI/large-model offerings expanded by over 50% year-over-year. That kind of growth in a new area is what management is banking on to drive future profitability, especially since they are also commercializing AI products in the second half of 2025.

For event-based income, while a specific revenue figure for event sponsorship and exhibition fees isn't itemized separately in the H1 2025 results, the visibility of their IPs suggests this stream is active. For instance, the 'WAVES' content and the 2025 AI Partner Summit each achieved over 100 million views, which definitely creates sponsorship inventory.

Here's the quick math on the main reported streams for H1 2025:

• Online advertising services: RMB74.5 million.
• Enterprise value-added services: RMB12.2 million.
• Subscription services: RMB6.4 million.
• AI-related advertising growth: over 50% YoY.

The subscription services revenue, which includes data and training, was RMB6.4 million for the period, down from RMB8.6 million last year, partly due to a change in the training services business model.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.