(Yicai Global) Oct. 29 -- The firm behind Chinese online radio app Lychee FM is planning to raise USD100 million through an initial public offering in the United States.

Guangzhou Lizhi Network Technology will use the funds to research artificial intelligence, improve its products and expand overseas, according to the preliminary prospectus it filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The document did not indicate a preference for the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.

Founded in 2013, Lychee FM focuses on user-generated content and had over 46.6 million monthly active users and 5.7 million monthly active content creators at the end of the third quarter, with 160 million audio clips available for listening.

UGC offers more diverse media forms than professionally generated content, leading to Lychee FM having 27 categories and 107 sub-sections for its audio clips, including some specifically for parenting, language learning and talk shows.

The firm has yet to make a profit, losing CNY56 million (USD7.9 million) in the first half of this year after a combined CNY163.3 million loss in all of 2017 and 2018. Its net revenue was CNY487 million over the first half of this year, compared with CNY799 million in all of 2018 and CNY454 million in 2017.

Lizhi blames the losses on increased subsidies for hosts, spending on AI research and development and cultivation of a global audience. It spent CNY121 million on marketing in the first half of this year, almost as much as in the whole of 2018 and making up a quarter of its operating revenue in the six-month period.

Its largest shareholder is founder Lai Yilong with a 29.9 percent stake. Matrix Partners China holds 21.9 percent and Morningside Venture Capital hold 21.5 percent.

Editor: James Boynton