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Xunlei partners with Baidu-backed iQiyi, launches blockchain platform

Shenzhen, China-based Xunlei Ltd. said May 16 that it has signed a partnership with Baidu (China) Co. Ltd.-backed online video platform iQiyi Inc. The tech company also launched a blockchain platform.

Xunlei said it signed iQiyi as one of its first clients to receive its internet-as-a-service, which includes edge and function computing and shared content delivery network solutions, through its newly rolled out StellarCloud platform.

The platform aims to help companies transition to cloud services by providing content delivery, live streaming, data storage and artificial intelligence services.

It is the second agreement between the two tech companies: IQiyi was Xunlei's client when it introduced sharing computing solutions to the market in 2015, Xunlei CEO Lei Chen said in an interview.

He said the renewed partnership marks a step toward "creating the best entertainment experience for online."

Blockchain platform

Xunlei also announced the rollout of blockchain platform ThunderChain Open, in which third-party developers and companies, mainly startups, can build, migrate and manage decentralized applications.

Blockchain technology is still "used only within organizations or in low-frequency transactions between companies," Lei said, adding that now "is the time when every individual ... can experience the real changes in their daily life brought by blockchain."

The introduction of StellarCloud and ThunderChain is an "attempt to build a blockchain ecosystem involving companies, developers and end users," Xunlei said. It launched its first blockchain-based hardware device, OneThing Cloud, in September 2017.

News of the launches follows Xunlei's first-quarter earnings release May 15. It reported a 117.9% year-over-year increase in first-quarter total revenue to $78.8 million, driven by revenue from cloud computing and other internet value-added services such as live streaming, which soared 316.4% year over year to $48.1 million.

Lei attributed the uptick in interest in cloud computing services to the increasing importance of the internet of things, which has changed demand for bandwidth, storage and computing power.