Aug 24, 2026 earnings call — Repositioning around AI-native game platform
The9 is repositioning around The9bit and reported net income of $32 million this quarter.
Revenue $0.0B · EPS $3.00
Key quotes
"We believe this combination of gaming and digital asset capabilities provides a differentiated foundation for building a functional currency, a functional token economy around AI-generated content or AIGC, and user-generated content or UGC in gaming."
"The platform has more than 8 million registered users, and since its launch in August 2025, our community has created more than 110,000 games."
"Creators use The9bit to generate games through AIGD, access premium tools such as AI Pro, purchase booster cards and other promotional tools, and use additional platform features."
Analyst Q&A 5
Why shift to The9bit platform
Q (Yidan Fu · Piacente Financial Communications): Why is The9 repositioning around The9bit, and how does it relate to The9's historical businesses?
A: Management said the move builds on capabilities from two decades operating online games and from their Bitcoin mining and digital asset work. Generative AI lowers creation barriers, so they combine these strengths in The9bit with a token economy to align creators and players, and they will scale the platform step by step while measuring community health, creator activity, platform utility, and commercial adoption.
"As generative AI began to reduce the time, cost, technical barriers involved in creating games, we saw an opportunity to bring these capabilities together through The9bit, an AI-native creative platform supported by a token economy designed for day-to-day utility." — George Lai (CEO)
How the 9BIT token works and regions
Q (Dylan Wang): How do creators and players earn and use The9bit token and how does that create token demand? Why start in Southeast Asia and will you expand to the U.S. and Europe?
A: They said The9bit tokens are earned through eligible platform activities like creating or playing games and reaching milestones, and are spent to generate games via AIGD, access AI Pro, buy booster cards, and use other platform features. Southeast Asia was chosen because of its young, mobile-first users familiar with digital assets and play-to-earn, making it a good test market for community building and offline-to-online partnerships; expansion to the U.S. and Europe will be deliberate because those markets are more competitive and customer acquisition can be higher.
"For The9bit token, the token is designed to be earned and used through actual participation in The9bit ecosystem." — Nora Lam (COO)
Which AI models and differentiation
Q (Miles Chen): What AI models does The9bit use, and what differentiates the platform and gives it a sustainable advantage?
A: They said they use multiple foundation models and orchestrate different models across the production pipeline rather than relying on one. The9bit is building an AI-native operating system and end-to-end production system with an orchestration engine and an AI-native editing layer that learns from production, improving efficiency and making the platform harder to replicate over time.
"We are building an end-to-end production system that makes game creation, editing, and iteration much more natural." — Gary Gao (COO)
NYB listing timeline and value
Q (Vivian Lu): What is the expected timeline for NYB's NASDAQ listing after the RFAI shareholder vote, and what does this milestone mean for The9's investment and shareholder value?
A: They said the remaining step is NASDAQ approval and they believe that should come pretty soon. The vote reinforces the value of their NYB stake—management said NYB's share cap is expected to be around $7.7 billion if RFAI share price stays the same and The9 is expected to hold approximately 15%-16% after closing—this validates their investment thesis and adds to the AI ecosystem they are building.
"This vote, what just happened is an encouraging step forward for NYB and an important procedural milestone on its path to NASDAQ." — George Lai (CEO)
Concerns about The9bit CEO leadership
Q (Anna Kong · eCart Services Sendirian Berhad): How does The9 respond to concerns about The9bit's CEO reputation, and how can investors be comfortable with leadership and execution risks?
A: They said The9bit is one of many companies under The9 and that the earnings call is not the right forum to discuss personal reputation issues. The co-founder and COO invited the analyst to contact her via Twitter, email, or PM so she can address the concern directly.
"First of all, I would like to highlight that The9bit is just part of, part of one of many companies under The9." — Nora Lam (COO)