iQIYI Founder and CEO Gong Yu Selected for Variety500 List of Most Influential Business Leaders in Global Entertainment Industry

BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Gong Yu, founder and CEO of iQIYI Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ) ("iQIYI" or the "Company"), an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, was named by Variety as one of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global $2 trillion entertainment industry, having been selected as a member of the magazine's annual Variety500 list.

The list, which reflects the accomplishments of members over the previous 12 months as judged by the Variety editorial board, this year also featured leading figures of the global entertainment industry including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Baidu Chairman and CEO Robin Li and Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley.

Variety gave the following description for Dr. Gong's entry in the 2018 list: "Chinese brainiac Gong (aka Tim Gong) shakes off comparisons between Netflix and his creation iQIYI. Since 2018, he has played out a Disney-like strategy of diversification into literature, comics, gaming and movie theaters. Now, iQIYI has shed its dependence on parent company Baidu's search engine and become one of the world's most downloaded apps. It's also a Chinese pioneer in using original content to drive paying subscriptions."

Dr. Gong founded iQIYI eight years ago and has since built the company into the market leader in China's online entertainment industry, a process which came to a climax with the company's successful listing on the NASDAQ exchange in March of this year. The company has marked itself out from competitors through its vast collection of high-quality original content, groundbreaking use of AI in entertainment and strong focus on monetization through innovative subscription and membership programs.

Under Dr. Gong's leadership, iQIYI has been transformed into a company offering users a comprehensive online entertainment ecosystem. iQIYI has produced multiple original shows that have become iconic sensations in Chinese society, including "Story of Yanxi Palace", "Let's Talk", "The Lost Tomb", "Tientsin Mystic", "The Rap of China" and "Idol Producer", while extending its array of high-quality entertainment services beyond online drama and variety shows into areas as diverse as online movies, games, comics, literature, e-commerce and live streaming.

About iQIYI, Inc.

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) ("iQIYI" or the "Company") is an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China. Its corporate DNA combines creative talent with technology, fostering an environment for continuous innovation and the production of blockbuster content. iQIYI's platform features highly popular original content, as well as a comprehensive library of other professionally-produced content, partner-generated content and user-generated content. The Company distinguishes itself in the online entertainment industry by its leading technology platform powered by advanced AI, big data analytics and other core proprietary technologies. iQIYI attracts a massive user base with tremendous user engagement, and has developed a diversified monetization model including membership services, online advertising services, content distribution, live broadcasting, online games, IP licensing, online literature and e-commerce etc. For more information on iQIYI, please visit http://ir.iqiyi.com.

SOURCE iQIYI, Inc.