Qihoo Monitor
Qihoo 360 Technology is a Chinese tech company founded by Chinese billionaire entrepreneurs Zhou Hongyi and Qi Xiangdong in 2005.
The company provides anti-virus software (360 Safeguard, 360 Mobile Safe), cloud storage, browsers and search engines (haosou.com [previously so.com], leidian.com), a smartphone named Battleship (in partnership with Haier) and a mobile app where users can also download web games developed by third-parties.
Qihoo 360 works in a “freemium” model, where services are provided for free with premium options offered for an extra charge, and revenue comes in mostly from running ads. With a market cap of $11.42B and over 500 million users, it’s definitely one of China’s most successful internet companies.
Still, it has been a bumpy road for the 4,200-employees-company; Qihoo 360 (and especially its founder, Zhou Hongyi) have been involved in lawsuits against Tencent, CNNIC, Baidu, Yahoo China and in several class actions, and have also engaged in high-profile disputes with Xiaomi mobile phones’ Lei Jun, Coolpad Group, Fang Zhouzi, Apple and various newspapers.
In TECHINASIA, Willis Wee wrote that; “most locals I have spoken to pay Zhou Hongyi respect for what he has achieved, going from zero to a listed company. But at the same time, many detest him for being a loudmouth “gangster“ who goes around picking fights”.
There’s no doubt that Hongyi is a talented and smart leader. He took his companies from zero to billions of dollars in revenue and stock market frenzies. And yet, rain clouds loom over his parade – lawyers, law firms, class actions, court dates, subpoenas, full-disclosure requests buzz around him like pesky flies.
That’s why Qihoo Monitor wishes to serve as a gatekeeper and watchdog over this successful company and its great technology, to make sure that its being “confrontational and litigious” doesn’t hurt its client base, investors, workers and other beneficiaries.
The company provides anti-virus software (360 Safeguard, 360 Mobile Safe), cloud storage, browsers and search engines (haosou.com [previously so.com], leidian.com), a smartphone named Battleship (in partnership with Haier) and a mobile app where users can also download web games developed by third-parties.
Qihoo 360 works in a “freemium” model, where services are provided for free with premium options offered for an extra charge, and revenue comes in mostly from running ads. With a market cap of $11.42B and over 500 million users, it’s definitely one of China’s most successful internet companies.
Still, it has been a bumpy road for the 4,200-employees-company; Qihoo 360 (and especially its founder, Zhou Hongyi) have been involved in lawsuits against Tencent, CNNIC, Baidu, Yahoo China and in several class actions, and have also engaged in high-profile disputes with Xiaomi mobile phones’ Lei Jun, Coolpad Group, Fang Zhouzi, Apple and various newspapers.
In TECHINASIA, Willis Wee wrote that; “most locals I have spoken to pay Zhou Hongyi respect for what he has achieved, going from zero to a listed company. But at the same time, many detest him for being a loudmouth “gangster“ who goes around picking fights”.
There’s no doubt that Hongyi is a talented and smart leader. He took his companies from zero to billions of dollars in revenue and stock market frenzies. And yet, rain clouds loom over his parade – lawyers, law firms, class actions, court dates, subpoenas, full-disclosure requests buzz around him like pesky flies.
That’s why Qihoo Monitor wishes to serve as a gatekeeper and watchdog over this successful company and its great technology, to make sure that its being “confrontational and litigious” doesn’t hurt its client base, investors, workers and other beneficiaries.