When a traditional enterprise announces an “AI transformation,” the market’s first reaction is often skepticism: is it a real transformation, or just jumping on the bandwagon? Is it real investment, or just storytelling?

Qidian Guofeng (01280.HK) is using its actions over the past year to provide an answer different from most companies. From the acquisition of Huiliu to partnering with MetaX, and to securing a server order worth RMB 278 million, what the Company has completed is not just a series of capital operations, but the gradual construction of a clear path from “strategic puzzle” to “value realization.”

It has taken a key step in its AI transformation, and in the domestic computing power track, a unique positioning logic is being validated.

I. Strategic Puzzle: A Dual-Core Architecture of Algorithm + Computing Power

Looking back at Qidian Guofeng’s transformation path, a clear strategic intent runs throughout: taking AI technology applications as the “soft” lever, and domestic computing power as the “hard” foundation, to build a dual-core driving architecture of “algorithm + computing power.”

On December 15, 2025, the Company completed the acquisition of Huiliu. This is a technology enterprise focused on “AI empowerment for interest-based e-commerce,” with a self-developed algorithm system and possessing closed-loop capabilities in user behavior analysis, content auto-generation, precise traffic allocation, and private domain operations. More importantly, Huiliu has already established a commercial path of “technology → service → monetization.” According to data disclosed in the supplemental announcement, as of June 30, 2025, Huiliu achieved total revenue of RMB 19.38 million and net profit after tax of RMB 6.05 million in the first half of the year, and contributed RMB 3.08 million in revenue and RMB 1.58 million in profit in just half a month after consolidation.

Immediately thereafter, in January 2026, the Company’s subsidiary Shanghai Huiliu signed a non-exclusive leading channel distributor cooperation agreement with MetaX, locking in a target of procuring 2,000 GPU units annually. Based on current market value estimates, the potential business scale corresponding to this annual procurement framework is approximately RMB 200 million. As a domestic high-performance general-purpose GPU enterprise, MetaX focuses on three major product lines: integrated training and inference, general computing, and graphics rendering. In the first three quarters of 2025, it achieved operating revenue of RMB 1.236 billion, with a gross profit margin maintained at a relatively high level of 55.76%.

At this point, Qidian Guofeng’s strategic structure has clearly emerged: Huiliu provides algorithm and application capabilities, MetaX provides the computing power foundation, and the two are deeply integrated under the Group’s intelligent computing business layout, forming an integrated “software + hardware” solution capability.

II. Value Realization: From “Having Resources” to “Being Able to Deliver”

After the strategic puzzle is completed, the real test is: whether resources can be transformed into deliverable products, and whether customers are willing to pay for them.

In March 2026, Qidian Guofeng delivered a phased answer. Its subsidiary, Beijing Qidian Guofeng Intelligent Computing Technology Co., Ltd., entered into an AI server sales contract with an independent third party, selling 200 AI servers for a total consideration of RMB 278 million. The significance of this order lies not only in revenue recognition, but more importantly in verifying the Company’s capability leap from “having resources” to “achieving delivery.”

It is worth noting that the customer for this order is an independent third party, rather than a related party or strategic partner. This means that Qidian Guofeng’s AI solutions have gradually developed market competitiveness and are capable of passing the test of the open market.

From the perspective of the industry background, China’s AI server market is currently in a phase of rapid growth. According to IDC data cited by the China Business Industry Research Institute, the market size of China’s AI servers reached RMB 160.655 billion in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 134%; it is expected to reach approximately RMB 250 billion in 2025, and is projected to further grow to RMB 350 billion in 2026. In this rapidly expanding market, system integrators with delivery capabilities are facing structural opportunities.

III. Positioning Logic: “System Integrator” in the Domestic Computing Power Track

Qidian Guofeng’s transformation path is revealing a validated positioning logic in the domestic computing power track: not engaging in the most cutting-edge chip R&D, but focusing on the core positioning of “computing power distribution + algorithm empowerment”—integrating upstream GPU chips, software stacks, and its own algorithm capabilities, and packaging them into AI solutions oriented toward end customers.

For domestic GPU manufacturers such as MetaX, their core competitiveness lies in chip design and software stacks; however, what most end customers need is not a single chip, but a complete “out-of-the-box” computing power system. This gap is precisely the positioning space for Qidian Guofeng. The Company does not participate in the chip R&D segment, but chooses to stand on the shoulders of giants and focus on building the level of “engineering and scenario implementation”—the key position of transforming technological supply into market value.

The advantage of this positioning lies in relatively controllable risks and a clear business path. Compared with the multi-year cycles often required for chip R&D, system integrators have a shorter input-output cycle and lower cash flow pressure; and compared with pure hardware distributors, system integrators possess stronger customer stickiness and pricing power.

IV. From “Story” to “Numbers”: The Substantive Progress of Transformation

The evaluation logic of the capital market never takes vision as the endpoint, but uses performance as the measure. Qidian Guofeng’s layout over the past year is undergoing a transition from “strategic narrative” to “operational performance.”

The acquisition of Huiliu has injected into the Company an AI application asset with self-sustaining capability—its algorithm products have already formed a stable monetization model in the interest-based e-commerce field, and after consolidation, it has immediately become a new source of profit for the Group. Reaching an upstream procurement framework with MetaX has resolved the most critical supply chain assurance issue in the computing power business, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale delivery. The final implementation of the server sales contract has completed the full closed loop from resource integration to product delivery, and the customer being an independent third party means that the Company’s solution capabilities have begun to undergo market-based validation.

These three steps are closely interconnected: Huiliu provides algorithm capabilities, MetaX ensures computing power supply, and the server order verifies the delivery closed loop. Together, the three form a complete chain of evidence for the Company’s transformation implementation.

From the financial perspective of the parent company, the effectiveness of the transformation has already begun to emerge. In 2025, the Company recorded total revenue of approximately RMB 357 million, with a gross profit margin of 23.5% during the period. The data shows preliminary signs of optimization in business structure. Although traditional businesses are still in an adjustment cycle, the new AI computing power business has begun to contribute revenue and profit, and the Company is gradually moving out of the “investment phase” of transformation and entering the verification stage of the “harvest phase.”

Conclusion: The Positioning Battle Has Only Just Begun

The domestic computing power track is ushering in unprecedented historical opportunities. With policy promotion, demand explosion, and the acceleration of domestic substitution, multiple tailwinds are superimposed, and the space of the track continues to expand. China’s AI server industry is moving from providing hardware equipment to delivering integrated solutions of “computing power as a service” through full-stack hardware and software collaborative optimization, which will significantly enhance the usability and competitiveness of the industry.

Under such opportunities, competition is equally intense. From chip manufacturers to server manufacturers, from cloud service providers to system integrators, all types of players are positioning themselves. Domestic GPU manufacturers such as MetaX have completed the transition from “technology validation” to “commercial expansion,” while their profit models are still in the process of being refined.

Qidian Guofeng’s choice is to become a system integrator closest to customers. The logic of this positioning is being validated: the RMB 278 million order is only a starting point, and as delivery capabilities continue to accumulate, how the Company’s position in the domestic computing power track will evolve is being further tested by the market.

When the track is sufficiently broad, positioning is more important than speed. And Qidian Guofeng has already found its own position.