AI Company Expands into Energy Storage Sector, IntelliFusion Launches 2023 Incentive Plan
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As one of the leading companies in visual artificial intelligence on the A-share market, IntelliFusion-U (688343) announced on the evening of September 25 that it has expanded its business scope to include 'energy storage technology services' and other areas. On the same day, the company introduced its 2023 restricted stock incentive plan (draft).
The announcement revealed that, in line with IntelliFusion's strategic development plan and business expansion needs, the board of directors approved the addition of 'energy storage technology services, energy performance contracting, and energy-saving management services' to the company's business scope. Relevant clauses in the Articles of Association were also revised accordingly. Additionally, the board requested authorization from the shareholders' meeting for the management or other authorized personnel to handle all procedures related to the business scope adjustment, charter amendments, and industrial and commercial filings.
Recently, China's first national-level Electricity Spot Market Trading Rules (Trial) were issued. On September 18, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly released the notice, proposing the steady and orderly participation of new energy in the electricity market, designing market mechanisms tailored to new energy characteristics, and ensuring alignment with new energy support policies. The rules also encourage new market participants such as distributed power generation, load aggregators, energy storage, and virtual power plants to engage in trading.
Analysts believe that as the electricity market operation mechanism gradually improves and the degree of liberalization for various market participants increases, new entities like virtual power plants and independent energy storage are expected to enter a period of development opportunities.
In recent years, provinces across China have successively introduced requirements for new energy projects to be connected to the grid with supporting energy storage facilities. Not only have power battery companies shifted their focus to energy storage to absorb production capacity, but many cross-industry players have also entered the field. According to joint statistics from KPMG and the China Electricity Council, in 2022, 38,000 new companies were established across the entire energy storage industry chain, covering energy storage systems, project operations, upstream components, and materials. This number represents a 5.8-fold increase compared to 2021.
On the same day, IntelliFusion launched its 2023 restricted stock incentive plan. The company plans to grant no more than 11.0616 million restricted shares at 28.14 yuan per share to 238 incentive recipients, accounting for approximately 3% of the company's total share capital and covering nearly 30% of its employees. Among the executive team, Deng Haoran, a director, CFO, and board secretary, received the highest allocation of 800,000 shares. The remaining 232 core employees were granted 8.0024 million shares, representing about 70% of the total allocation.
IntelliFusion stated that its main revenue comes from the sales of digital city products, smart living products, and chip products. With increasing industry and talent competition, the company's talent costs have risen, necessitating long-term incentive policies. The incentive plan, which offers restricted shares at a reasonable price, aims to attract and retain top talent, giving the company a competitive edge in the industry. In April this year, the company experienced changes in its core technical team, with Wang Xiaoyu, the chief scientist, deputy general manager, and core technical personnel, leaving for personal reasons. His R&D responsibilities were taken over by Xiao Rong, the vice president of product algorithms and head of the large model preparation group, along with the company's R&D team.
As of the latest closing, IntelliFusion's stock price stood at 45.36 yuan per share.
As part of the performance targets, the company aims for a minimum revenue growth rate of 60% in 2024 and 90% in 2025, based on the 2022 revenue figures. In 2022, IntelliFusion reported revenue of 546 million yuan. In the first half of this year, revenue reached 147 million yuan, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of approximately 200 million yuan, representing a narrowing loss compared to the previous year. Due to broader market conditions, the company's new project reserves in the second half of last year fell short of expectations. The reduction in losses was primarily attributed to increased investment income and reduced administrative expenses.
Yuntian Lifei has made significant technological advancements, publicly introducing its 'Tianshu' large model for the first time at the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July. Based on the 'Tianshu' model, Yuntian Lifei collaborated with the Shenzhen Longgang District Government Service Data Administration to explore its application in government consultation service systems. This initiative was selected for inclusion in the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology's '2023 General Artificial Intelligence Innovation Application Case Collection.' In the future, the system will gradually expand to government agencies and public service sectors such as legal affairs, finance, education, healthcare, and transportation.
Additionally, the company showcased its independently designed and developed next-generation edge computing chip, the DeepEdge10 series SoC. Utilizing advanced domestic manufacturing processes and supporting multi-chiplet expansion with Chiplet technology, it offers 12 TOPS (INT8) integer computing and 2 TFLOPS (FP16) floating-point computing capabilities for deep learning inference. It is suitable for industry clients in sectors like surveillance cameras, edge computing devices, robotics, and automotive smart cockpits.