Qichacha
Qichacha runs a Chinese business registry lookup site used by banks, insurers, and law firms.
On the record
Checkpoint: Confirmation or denial of an IPO filing with CSRC or an exchange
The call
Qichacha has real enterprise customers and a decade of data work, but sits between a free Baidu competitor and AI models that can query the same public registries directly.
Qichacha sells cleaned-up corporate data and business records to Chinese companies that need to check suppliers or partners. The main problem is that Baidu already offers similar information for free, and new AI chatbots can now pull official records directly without needing Qichacha as a middleman, which means fewer small businesses will pay for the service. The one thing that could save the company is if it builds actual work software that companies use every day for more than just lookups, before AI tools become good enough and trusted enough to replace it entirely.
Why
01
AI pressure: Chinese frontier LLMs (Kimi K3, GLM-5.2, Qwen3.8, DeepSeek V4). These models can query gsxt.gov.cn directly, threatening to strip out the lookup layer Qichacha's freemium funnel depends on. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Baidu (Aiqicha). Aiqicha is live, free to use, and backed by Baidu's search distribution, competing head on for the same lookups. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Ten years of cleaned, cross-referenced registry and litigation data plus workflow tools that banks and law firms already work inside.
What would change this call
Qichacha files for or confirms an IPO on a Chinese exchange within 12 months. Would show the company has real audited financials strong enough to survive regulatory scrutiny.
Baidu Aiqicha adds paid enterprise/compliance-tier features matching Qichacha's audit-trail product. Would show Baidu moving from free-tier lookup into Qichacha's enterprise revenue base.
A frontier Chinese LLM (Kimi K3, GLM-5.2, Qwen3.8, DeepSeek V4) ships a verified direct gsxt.gov.cn query agent. Would show AI agents bypassing aggregators like Qichacha for compliance-grade company lookups.
Baidu Aiqicha adds paid enterprise/compliance-tier features matching Qichacha's audit-trail product. Would show Baidu moving from free-tier lookup into Qichacha's enterprise revenue base.
A frontier Chinese LLM (Kimi K3, GLM-5.2, Qwen3.8, DeepSeek V4) ships a verified direct gsxt.gov.cn query agent. Would show AI agents bypassing aggregators like Qichacha for compliance-grade company lookups.
Key numbers
- Reported 800+ employees
- Series D+ funding, ~$57.1M total raised
- Claimed ¥300M annual net profit, unverified
Named risks
- AI agents may query public registries directly, eroding freemium funnel that feeds enterprise sales.
- No audited financials or independent revenue disclosure exists as of 2026-06-27.
- Data scraping and republishing of personal/corporate records exposes platform to privacy enforcement.
- Baidu's free Aiqicha platform offers superior distribution and no-cost alternative.
- China's tightened IPO scrutiny (Feb 2026) could delay or block any planned listing.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Tianyancha | contesting | Reported public litigation and unfair-competition disputes with Qichacha as of 2025-10-15 |
| Baidu Aiqicha | contesting | Free, giant-backed rival platform competes for same enterprise/SME users, no share data confirmed |
| gsxt.gov.cn (government registry) | losing to | Free official source underlies all paid aggregator data, structural long-term risk to fees |
Questions people ask
- Is Qichacha profitable?
- Qichacha claims its founder generated a net profit of 300 million RMB in a year, per a company-linked commentary dated 2025-10-15. This figure comes from a single unverified source, not an audited filing, so it should be treated as a vendor-claimed statement rather than confirmed fact.
- Is Qichacha going public with an IPO?
- A Chinese commentary piece dated 2025-10-15 says Qichacha is preparing for an IPO, but no confirmed prospectus filing with any exchange has been found as of mid-2026. China's CSRC also tightened IPO scrutiny in February 2026, which could delay any listing attempt.
- Who is Qichacha's biggest competitor?
- Tianyancha is described as Qichacha's closest and most direct rival, with reported public disputes over litigation and unfair competition as of October 2025. Baidu also runs a free competing platform, Aiqicha, giving Qichacha a three-way market with no confirmed share leader.
- Could AI replace Qichacha?
- Qichacha's core function, turning public registry, litigation and patent data into searchable profiles, is exposed to AI agents that could query China's official gsxt.gov.cn registry directly. As of July 2026, fast-improving low-cost Chinese models like Kimi K3 and GLM-5.2 raise this disruption risk, though no direct-registry compliant agent has been confirmed yet.
- Who owns Qichacha?
- Qichacha is privately held and VC-backed through at least a Series D round, founded by chairman Chen Deqiang on 2014-03-12 in Suzhou, Jiangsu. Named investors include Richen Capital, Oriza Equity Investment, Guofang Investment, Wind Information and CITIC Securities, per cbinsights.com as of 2026-05-10.
- What is Qichacha's valuation?
- Qichacha's valuation was estimated at $400 million as of October 2019 during its Series C round, rising to an estimated $434.4 million as of a VC round dated 2023-10-30, per caplight.com. Total disclosed funding raised is roughly $57.1 million as of 2023-10-29.
Timeline
- 2026-07-26Chinese frontier models Kimi K3 and GLM-5.2 gain rapid adoption, raising AI disruption pressure
- 2026-02-08China's CSRC moves to tighten scrutiny of IPO withdrawals, affecting listing timing
- 2025-10-15Commentary reports Qichacha preparing for IPO and claims 300M RMB annual net profit (unverified)
- 2023-10-30Estimated valuation reaches $434.4M via VC round
- 2023-10-18PE growth deal with ChinaLawInfo reported, signaling legal-data expansion
- 2023Company reports over 800 employees nationwide and owns Suzhou HQ building
- 2019-10Valuation reaches approximately $400M in Series C round
- 2014-03-12Qichacha founded in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province by Chen Deqiang
Revision history
26 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations (2026-05-10)
- The Qichacha you often use is about to IPO (2025-10-15)
- Valuation, Funding Rounds & Stock Price (2023-10-29)
- Qichacha 2026 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors
- Apple (爱企查)
- Yiqicha 2026 Company Profile
- HangHangCha 2026 Company Profile
- Chinese company registration-How to Verify Chinese supplier? (2025-04-17)
- Cheaper, open and intelligent: Chinese AI models gain ground (2026-07-26)
- 中證監：根本扭轉IPO「一查就撤」等亂象 (2026-02-08)
- Qichacha Stock Price, Funding, Valuation, Revenue & Financial Statements (2026-06-27)