Building a Creator-Centric Ecosystem: Tony Zhu Discusses Unicorn BIGO Technology’s Strategies

BIGO Technology (BIGO) has rapidly ascended the ranks of the social media and livestreaming industry since its inception in 2014. Founded on the principle of empowering users with a dynamic new social language, BIGO has grown into one of Singapore’s fastest-growing companies, with a global presence that includes more than 30 offices and five R&D centers.

BIGO’s flagship product, Bigo Live, was launched in 2016 and quickly became a market leader in social livestreaming. The platform has amassed over 400 million users in 150 countries, establishing itself in the industry. The success is built on a diversified content ecosystem and continuously evolving social interaction features that cater to a global audience. 

According to Data AI’s State of Mobile report released in January 2024, Bigo Live retained its position as the world’s second-largest social app based on consumer spending in 2023, with monthly active users increasing by 4.5% year-over-year to 38.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The rise of the global creator economy, projected to reach a market size of US$480 billion by 2027, has been a major driver of BIGO’s growth. As users shift towards video-first social experiences, platforms like Bigo Live have become crucial in providing authentic and engaging content, for a creator-centric ecosystem. Bigo Live’s unique blend of AI, VR, and AR technologies enhances user engagement. This makes it easier for creators to produce and monetize content, while also offering viewers a rich, immersive experience.

Tony Zhu, Chief Technology Officer of BIGO Technology, shares insights into the company’s journey, the technological advancements driving their platforms, and their future plans. 

In this interview, he delves into how BIGO leverages AI to enhance user experiences, supports a vibrant creator ecosystem, and leads digital innovation.

AI Integrations:

In what ways do AI-powered innovations enhance user engagement and support a creative online community on platforms like Bigo Live, and how do you measure the impact of these technologies?

The social industry, as a tech-first industry, is constantly exploring and implementing new features and technologies to improve user experience further and deepen interactions through immersive and multi-dimensional online experiences. 

Over the past ten years, we have utilised technologies such as AI (including GenAI), VR and AR, to craft immersive and interactive experiences for our creators and users. These developments highlight the positive influence emerging technologies have on the global creator economy by empowering creators with accessible resources and fostering an environment that fosters efficiency and creativity. Most beneficially, technologies such as AI/GenAI largely acts as a time-saving tool to increase a content creator’s efficiency in generating content and acting as a creative spark. By analysing audience data and tailoring personalised suggestions, GenAI also enables content creators to produce content that best resonates with their viewers’ interests. This provides the opportunity to promote a unique and engaging content creation process, propelling the global creator economy forward.

Take Bigo Live as an example. Bigo Live is also uniquely driven by a “social + community” strategy. Our platform’s intrinsic social features help users share their life moments and create meaningful interactions with people around the globe. It’s a community-first approach that allows users to enjoy collaborative content and establish a real sense of connection.  

How does BIGO leverage AI technologies to enable users to generate AI-created avatars in various animation styles and personalized emoticons from user-uploaded photos on platforms like Bigo Live?

In December 2021, we launched ‘Virtual Live’ on Bigo Live, a groundbreaking interactive feature blending AI, VR and AR technologies to capture users’ facial expressions and movements in real-time, allowing them to livestream through lifelike virtual 3D avatars. This has allowed our users to transcend traditional livestreaming limitations to foster an interactive and imaginative experience. It is driven by AI technology, but the creators behind the avatars are real humans.  

Building upon this success, we expanded our capabilities by further developing in-app GenAI tools in 2023 and 2024 across BIGO’s social apps. Users can now upload photos to generate personalised avatars, allowing them to customise their profile photos with both 3D and 2D options. Our tools also present the opportunity to develop AI-powered emoticons, generated directly from users’ photos, further enriching interactions within livestreams. 

With all these features, our users are free to immerse themselves in their own virtual identities, regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, levels of expertise, or talent. Through BIGO’s products and services, we hope that our users can enter a new dimension where individuals and creators alike can freely express their creativity and seize new opportunities within the virtual world.  

What factors influence the customization options available to users when creating AI-generated avatars on platforms like Bigo Live? How does BIGO ensure a balance between user control and automated customization in avatar creation?

We believe that AI technology and the innovative tools that are accessible to today’s internet users are a means to support their creative expression, help them better understand the world and to deepen their relations with other people in the online environment. 

Our creators are from different parts of the world and are a key part of our growing creator platform, elevating BIGO into a catalyst for an organic development of a creator-centric ecosystem that is built on inclusiveness and a real sense of connection. They are irreplaceable, and we are working on applying technology to assist their self-expression, creations, and socialisation better. 

We believe that our creators, whether they publish organic or AI-generated content, have positively impacted our community. We are glad to be on the path to providing them with one more choice to express themselves. The final goal is to foster meaningful human connections.   

How do initiatives like the Amateur Streamers Incentive Program align with BIGO’s broader strategy of supporting a vibrant creator ecosystem on platforms like Bigo Live, and what role do AI-powered features play in promoting user engagement and inclusivity within this ecosystem?

The Amateur Streamers Incentive Program is a cornerstone for BIGO to cultivate a vibrant creator ecosystem on platforms like Bigo Live. This program aligns with our commitment to empower aspiring broadcasters, providing them with the resources and support needed to showcase their talents and engage with audiences globally. By offering incentives tailored to amateur streamers, we not only encourage more users to explore livestreaming but also ensure that Bigo Live remains an inclusive space for creators at all levels of experience.

Gen AI Integration: 

How does ChatGPT enhance user experiences and engagement on platforms like Bigo Live, and what specific functionalities or tasks does the chatbot assist users with?

We’ve leveraged ChatGPT’s capabilities to help users on Bigo Live to find their favourite broadcasters and enhance their interactions with them. ChatGPT, as an AI chatbot, tends to have a strong robotic reception tone and lacks personality. Thus, we are combining our understanding of users in our specific scenarios and integrating other AI technologies to achieve a more realistic and personalized effect.

To be more specific, on the user side, by integrating various types of information on Bigo Live, ChatGPT’s comprehension abilities allow the platform to achieve a better understanding of users’ needs and preferences. On the broadcaster side, by leveraging ChatGPT’s multimodal abilities in text, voice, and image, we can also better understand the characteristic, style, and live streaming behaviour of broadcasters. Then based on ChatGPT’s analysis, we match each user with the broadcasters and live streaming rooms that might interest them the most.

Overall, the integration of ChatGPT into BIGO’s platforms has been a significant step forward in enhancing user engagement and creating a more interactive and dynamic online community.

How do you prioritize technology investments to support business ventures and collaboration initiatives in emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle east?

We prioritize technology investments by aligning them closely with our business objectives and the unique needs of emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. 

For instance, in the Middle East region, we see a vibrant tech ecosystem supported by proactive government policies and a growing pool of digital talent. This makes it an ideal environment for our incubation projects aimed at Singaporean startups. By fostering strategic collaborations and partnerships, we aim to create a robust support system that not only accelerates the growth of these startups but also opens new business opportunities. We also have big plans for Saudi Arabia, including setting up a regional headquarters, creating 500 jobs, and investing $500 million in tech developments and other sectors over the next five years. Our goal is to support the creative aspect and bring Middle Eastern culture to the world, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Through these initiatives, we strive to support innovative developments, ensuring that our technology investments are not just financially sound but also contribute to the broader goal of sustainable development and innovation in these regions.

A recent initiative on our approach can be seen in our participation in the Jordan-Singapore Tech Alliance Forum.

The forum, held at the prestigious Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, brought together over 300 industry leaders from both countries to explore cutting-edge ideas and shape the future of technology collaboration.

Future Plans

What is the roadmap for further advancements in BIGO’s technologies, particularly in areas such as audio and video technologies, AI, and AIGC?

We are actively exploring other options and features that utilise these emerging technologies to enhance the user experience on Bigo Live. Our ongoing R&D efforts focus on seamlessly integrating these innovations into the social interaction process, empowering users to connect authentically and not be replaced by technology.

In terms of audio and video technologies, we will continuously focus on a clear, smooth and fun user experience. Combined with AI technology, we aim at providing users with immersive livestreaming or interactive experiences to stimulate users’ creativity. For example, we will apply AI to achieve higher definition video codec optimization with lower traffic bandwidth, to provide users with one-click beauty effect solution, and utilize generative AI technology to roll out more interesting content on the platforms.

What technological advancements or developments can we expect from BIGO in the near future, especially in terms of enhancing user experiences, expanding platform capabilities, or exploring new areas of innovation and collaboration?

As an innovator in AI-powered RTC based products and services, we inspire creativity, generating vibrant connections worldwide. Our vision prioritizes creating a safe space for users to unearth and develop talents in a positive community. We will continue to innovate and push out new features to continue providing our users with an engaging and immersive livestreaming experience. In the meantime, we will stick to continuous build of content verticals and interest-based groups to empower our communities and creators.  

We will continue to leverage GenAI’s capabilities to enhance users’ interactive experiences. For instance, by utilizing GPT-4’s real-time voice interaction capabilities, we aim to improve cross-language communications and interactions for BIGO users. Additionally, we will further utilize AIGC to generate personalized gifts and stickers etc.

BIGO Technology, under the leadership of Tony Zhu, continues to drive innovation in the social media and livestreaming sectors. With a focus on AI, VR, and AR technologies, BIGO is enhancing user experiences and supporting a vibrant creator ecosystem. The company’s plans to provide immersive and interactive platforms like Bigo Live to lead in the global social entertainment industry.

Looking ahead, BIGO aims to further leverage emerging technologies to empower users and creators worldwide.

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