Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is the Chinese company behind Xiaohongshu (RedNote), a social networking and e-commerce platform combining user-generated notes with product discovery.
Last updated October 29, 2026
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Overview
Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is the Chinese technology company that operates Xiaohongshu (小红书), known internationally as RedNote. Xiaohongshu is a social networking and e-commerce platform that combines user-generated "notes" — posts mixing text, images, and short videos — with product discovery and social commerce features. The platform was founded in 2013 by Miranda Qu and Charlwin Mao as an online tour guide for Chinese shoppers, providing a space for users to review products and share shopping experiences. It has since grown into one of China's most distinctive consumer internet platforms, often described by the South China Morning Post as "China's answer to Instagram." The company is headquartered in Shanghai. Its early user base was predominantly female and focused on fashion and beauty trends; as of 2020, 70% of users were reportedly born after 1990, and nearly 70% were female. Xiaohongshu later adjusted its strategy to attract more male users, and by 2022 about 30% of users were male. The platform operates under China's strict content moderation requirements, like all social media apps in the country. Xiaohongshu has attracted backing from major Chinese technology investors. In June 2018, Alibaba Group and Tencent invested US$300 million at a valuation of US$3 billion. In 2023, Sequoia China bought Xiaohongshu shares at a valuation of $14 billion. Around July 2024, the company completed a round of stake sales valuing it at around $17 billion, with participation from DST Global, HongShan, Hillhouse Investment, Boyu Capital, and CITIC Capital. The platform achieved profitability in 2023 with a net profit of $500 million on revenues of $3.7 billion, and it has over 300 million monthly active users. Internationally, the app was branded as RED from 2022 through 2023, then listed as REDnote on Google Play beginning in September 2024. In January 2025, amid uncertainty over TikTok's future in the United States, a notable number of U.S. users migrated to Xiaohongshu, with Reuters reporting over 700,000 new users in roughly two days. The company subsequently implemented measures to separate Chinese users from non-Chinese users on the platform. Xiaohongshu has considered public listings, applying for a U.S. IPO in 2021 before shifting consideration to Hong Kong, but it remains privately held.
History
Xiaohongshu was founded in 2013 by Miranda Qu and Charlwin Mao as an online tour guide for Chinese shoppers, providing a platform for users to review products and share their shopping experiences with the community. The app was initially called "Hong Kong Shopping Guide" and targeted Chinese tourists. According to co-founder Mao Wenchao, the name Xiaohongshu (lit. 'little red book') was inspired by his career at Bain & Company and education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; both institutions feature red as their main color. The company has stated that the platform's name is not a reference to the 1964 Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. In 2015, Xiaohongshu set up warehouses in Shenzhen, Guangdong and Zhengzhou, Henan. On 6 June 2017, the platform held a shopping festival to celebrate its fourth anniversary, which saw sales revenue exceed CN¥100 million in two hours, while the app ranked first in the iOS App Store under the "Shopping" category that day. In June 2018, Alibaba Group and Tencent invested US$300 million in Xiaohongshu, valuing it at US$3 billion. Due to its early focus on fashion and beauty trends, Xiaohongshu's user base was predominantly female. A report published in April 2021 said 90% of users were women. The app attracted affluent Gen Z female users in urban China as an alternative to Instagram, which is blocked in the country. Xiaohongshu subsequently adjusted its corporate strategy to attract more male users. In 2021, it announced it would promote male user content, and by 2022, 30% of users were male. There was criticism that the strategy and the platform's algorithm increased harassment and made women feel less welcome. An external advertising agency marketed Xiaohongshu on other websites in a manner the company later apologized for. In 2021, Xiaohongshu applied for an initial public offering in the United States but decided to transfer the IPO to Hong Kong the same year. According to a Bloomberg News report in July, this included requiring all companies holding data of more than 1 million users to submit to a cyber security review, one reason for the suspension of the U.S. listing. Reuters reported the U.S. IPO was cancelled after Chinese regulators voiced concern over the listing venue. In 2023, Sequoia China bought Xiaohongshu shares in multiple transactions at a valuation of $14 billion. On 18 April 2019, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Branch of Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Xiaohongshu) was established in Shanghai. On 15 May 2024, the Xiaohongshu (Beijing) Branch Committee of the CCP was established. According to the Financial Times, Xiaohongshu completed a round of stake sales of existing shares to new and former investors around July 2024 that valued the company at around $17 billion. This round saw participation from DST Global, HongShan (formerly Sequoia China), Hillhouse Investment, Boyu Capital, and CITIC Capital. The platform, which already had significant backing from Tencent and Alibaba, achieved profitability in 2023 with a net profit of $500 million on revenues of $3.7 billion. Despite having over 300 million monthly active users with high engagement, its total revenue remains significantly lower than Douyin's. In January 2025, amid uncertainty over TikTok's future in the United States, a noticeable number of U.S. users began migrating to Xiaohongshu as an alternative platform. Reuters reported the influx reached over 700,000 new users in roughly two days, alongside a sharp rise in U.S. downloads and visibility on app download charts. Commentators described the episode as cross-platform migration influenced by regulatory uncertainty and platform governance. American users described the move both as a way to preserve a TikTok-like community and as a protest against U.S. government pressure on TikTok. It also gave Chinese users a chance to interact with a large number of international users. Xiaohongshu subsequently implemented measures to separate Chinese users from non-Chinese users on the platform. Internationally, the app was branded as RED from 2022 through 2023, then listed under the name REDnote on Google Play beginning in September 2024; since January 20, 2025, it has been styled rednote on both the App Store and Google Play.
- 2025
In January, amid TikTok uncertainty, over 700,000 new U.S. users join in roughly two days; app styled rednote on App Store and Google Play from January 20.
- 2024
On 15 May, the Xiaohongshu (Beijing) Branch Committee of the CCP is established.
- 2024
Around July, completes stake sales valuing the company at around $17 billion, with participation from DST Global, HongShan, Hillhouse, Boyu, and CITIC Capital.
- 2024
In September, app listed as REDnote on Google Play.
- 2023
Sequoia China buys Xiaohongshu shares at a $14 billion valuation; platform achieves profitability with $500 million net profit on $3.7 billion revenue.
- 2022
App branded internationally as RED.
- 2021
Xiaohongshu applies for a U.S. IPO but decides to transfer the listing to Hong Kong the same year.
- 2021
Announces it will promote male user content; by 2022, 30% of users are male.
- 2019
On 18 April, the CCP Branch of Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is established in Shanghai.
- 2018
In June, Alibaba Group and Tencent invest US$300 million at a US$3 billion valuation.
Products and positioning
A lifestyle social commerce platform combining community-generated content with product discovery, often described as China's answer to Instagram.
Xiaohongshu app
Social networking and e-commerce platform combining user-generated notes with product discovery.
RedNote app
International version of the platform, listed as REDnote on Google Play from September 2024.
Controversies
2026
Shanghai police detain blogger over fabricated Xiaohongshu IPO failure post
On August 23, 2026, Shanghai Huangpu police announced that a self-media blogger surnamed Mo was administratively detained for fabricating a post claiming that a well-known company's IPO had failed and publishing it on a securities investment platform. A person familiar with the matter said the company was Xiaohongshu. Police also ordered the content to be deleted and a clarification to be issued.
2022
Xiaohongshu sues agencies over fake promotional posts
Xiaohongshu said it had filed suit against four promotional-platform and MCN organizations over businesses that wrote and published fake promotional posts. It sought an order to stop the activity and RMB 10 million in compensation.
2021
Xiaohongshu responds to advertising penalty
In January 2021, Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., the operator of Xiaohongshu, published a notice responding to an administrative advertising penalty disclosed that day. According to the notice, the company's review found that the penalty concerned inappropriate wording in a 2018 article posted on its official WeChat account, and the company stated that it had handled the article in question. The notice was reported by Sina Finance on January 14, 2021.
2021
Xiaohongshu bans 29 brands over suspected fake marketing
Xiaohongshu announced that it had launched a new campaign against fake marketing and banned an initial 29 brands suspected of fake marketing. The report says content related to the banned brands was no longer displayed in searches.
2019
Xiaohongshu responds to reports of fake traffic and reviews
After CCTV reported that e-commerce platforms faced black-market activity involving fake traffic and reviews, Xiaohongshu said it had an independent anti-cheating team and took action against fake posts and malicious traffic manipulation, with penalties when cases were verified.
Recent events
Shanghai police detain blogger over fabricated Xiaohongshu IPO failure post[3]
Reported:
Shanghai Huangpu police announced on August 23, 2026 that a self-media blogger surnamed Mo was administratively detained for fabricating a post claiming a well-known company's IPO had failed and publishing it on a securities investment platform; a person familiar with the matter said the company was Xiaohongshu. Police also ordered the content deleted and a clarification issued.
- Unconfirmed
Xiaohongshu reportedly developing AI shopping guide feature[9]
Reported:
Reports say Xiaohongshu is developing a new "AI shopping guide" feature that uses conversational interaction to push product cards and attach order-jump links in Q&A scenarios, with the project led by Daoxuan (Pan Boyuan).
Xiaohongshu bans brands and merchants in fake-promotion enforcement[6]
Reported:
Xiaohongshu began a third round of fake-promotion governance on January 19 and banned six offline merchants and seven brands, including Yutianlan, Zhichu and Oldenburger, according to the report.
Xiaohongshu sues agencies over fake promotional posts[6]
Reported:
Xiaohongshu said it had filed suit against four promotional-platform and MCN organizations over businesses that wrote and published fake promotional posts. It sought an order to stop the activity and RMB 10 million in compensation.
Xiaohongshu bans 29 brands over suspected fake marketing[7]
Reported:
Xiaohongshu announced that it had launched a new campaign against fake marketing and banned an initial 29 brands suspected of fake marketing. The report says content related to the banned brands was no longer displayed in searches.
- Unconfirmed
Xiaohongshu completes a $500 million funding round[10]
Reported:
According to multiple independent sources cited by 36Kr, Xiaohongshu recently completed a $500 million funding round led by Temasek and Tencent, with existing investors also participating; the post-money valuation was reported at $20 billion. Xiaohongshu said the round was mainly composed of additional investment from existing shareholders.
- Unconfirmed
Weimob and Xiaohongshu announce mini-program mall cooperation[11]
Weimob announced a cooperation with Xiaohongshu on a mini-program mall solution, enabling Weimob merchants to connect to the Xiaohongshu platform and open mini-program stores there. The article says the partnership can support merchants' omnichannel capabilities.
Xiaohongshu becomes CCTV's strategic partner for major sports events[12]
Reported:
Xiaohongshu became China Media Group's strategic partner for major sports events. During the Tokyo Olympics, the parties planned Olympic coverage and exclusive content on Xiaohongshu.
Xiaohongshu responds to advertising penalty[4]
Reported:
Xiaohongshu published a notice responding to an administrative advertising penalty disclosed that day. It said its review found the penalty concerned inappropriate wording in a 2018 article on its official WeChat account and that it had handled the article.
Xiaohongshu-associated company fined over advertising language[5]
An associated company of Xiaohongshu received an administrative penalty of 20,000 yuan. The stated reason was advertising that referred to disease-treatment functions and used medical terminology or wording that could confuse promoted products with drugs or medical devices.
Showing the 10 most recent.
Sources27 sources
- 1Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. on Wikidatawikidata.org
- 2Xiaohongshu on Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- 3Shanghai police detain blogger over fabricated Xiaohongshu IPO failure postnews.ifeng.com
- 4Xiaohongshu responds to advertising penaltyfinance.sina.com.cn
- 5Xiaohongshu responds to advertising penaltybiz.jrj.com.cn
- 6Xiaohongshu sues agencies over fake promotional postsfinance.sina.com.cn
- 7Xiaohongshu bans 29 brands over suspected fake marketingfinance.people.com.cn
- 8Xiaohongshu responds to reports of fake traffic and reviewsfinance.sina.com.cn
- 9小红书被曝打造 AI 导购功能163.com
- 10小红书完成5亿美元融资finance.sina.com.cn
- 11微盟与小红书宣布小程序商城合作donews.com
- 12小红书成为总台顶级赛事专项战略合作伙伴finance.sina.com.cn
- 13小红书宣布推出“RED星计划”chinaz.com
- 14酷狗在多个媒体平台推广M9耳机citnews.com.cn
- 15小红书与时尚集团宣布全面深度合作tech.sina.com.cn
- 16小猪与小红书宣布达成战略合作chinaz.com
- 17纪梵希时装线在小红书开启互动直播tech.sina.com.cn
- 18小红书与湖州、台州开展“Red City城市计划”合作travel.shm.com.cn
- 19小红书与台州市签署战略合作协议tech.sina.com.cn
- 20小红书上线抗疫心理援助平台tech.sina.com.cn
- 21小红书关闭上海REDhome门店tech.sina.com.cn
- 22小红书回应被行政处罚：已当即对问题文章进行处理chinaz.com
- 23小红书回应泄露未成年人隐私及审核漏放 此前遭央视曝光chinaz.com
- 24小红书起诉4家涉虚假种草通告平台、MCN机构：索赔1000万finance.jrj.com.cn
- 25小红书上线抗疫心理援助平台 开放7*24小时免费咨询tech.sina.com.cn
- 26小红书推出“RED星计划” 将打造百位明星专属IPchinaz.com
- 27小红书与上海市消保委达成战略合作 博主直播推荐本地消费体验馆tech.sina.com.cn
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