Yiren Digital Advances AI Entertainment Strategy Through Warrant Agreement with an AI-Native Entertainment and Emotional Wellness Platform
Staged Investment Rights Provide a Pathway Toward Potential Majority Ownership in a Fast-Growing, Internationally Focused AI Application Company
BEIJING, July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Yiren Digital Ltd. (NYSE:YRD) ("Yiren Digital" or the "Company"), a leading company specializing in financial technology and artificial intelligence innovation across multiple industries in China and global markets, today announced that it has entered into a warrant agreement with a privately held AI-native company (the "Target Company") focused on immersive AI entertainment and emotional wellness with a predominantly international footprint. The arrangement further advances the Company's "All-in-AI" strategy and its expansion into the AI entertainment and emotional wellness vertical.
The name of the Target Company is not disclosed due to confidentiality obligation. The agreement marks the fourth AI company with which Yiren Digital has entered into a warrant agreement, reflecting the Company's disciplined approach to acquiring potential controlling interests while deploying capital efficiently to create long-term shareholder value. Under the agreement, the Company has the right to exercise the warrant, to acquire a combination of existing and newly issued shares at a predetermined price with the objective of becoming the controlling shareholder. These rights are staged investment rights and do not constitute current control, de facto control, or consolidation. Any future change in ownership will occur only upon satisfaction of contractual conditions and completion of required payments, and all subsequent exercises will be subject to applicable regulatory requirements and corporate governance procedures. Upon completion of the warrant exercise, the Target Company is expected to become part of Yiren Digital's forthcoming AI Entertainment and Emotional Wellness business segment.
The Target Company operates in the rapidly growing AI-powered digital companion market, a key segment within AI entertainment. Its platform offers immersive, story-driven AI experiences designed to foster deep user engagement while providing personalized companionship experiences through intelligent AI interactions. By combining rich storytelling with adaptive AI characters, the platform creates meaningful user experiences that extend beyond conventional chatbot applications. The Target Company has established a leading position across Southeast Asia and Greater China, including Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan region, and is developing its own proprietary, purpose-built AI roleplay model. By combining high-quality user interactions with proprietary model development, the Target Company aims to create a self-reinforcing data and model improvement cycle that continuously enhances user experience.
"We believe the future of AI lies not only in improving productivity, but also in creating richer and more meaningful human experiences," said Mr. Ning Tang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yiren Digital. "Platforms that combine immersive content, emotional engagement, and proprietary AI technologies represent an exciting new frontier. We will continue to invest in AI-native businesses that complement our ecosystem in order to create long-term value for our users and shareholders."
Expanding into AI Entertainment
The Target Company operates in AI companionship and roleplay entertainment, an emerging segment of AI entertainment that Yiren Digital believes represents one of the consumer AI formats with the clearest user demand and monetization potential. Through this and related investments, the Company aims to build a leading presence in AI entertainment, combining immersive, narrative-driven experiences with Yiren Digital's proprietary AI capabilities, operating resources and commercialization experience.
User Traction and International Momentum
According to unaudited operating data provided by the Target Company, as of June 2026, the platform had reached over 3 million cumulative users and over 150,000 cumulative paying users, with a DAU/MAU ratio of approximately 44%, and an unaudited annualized revenue run-rate exceeding US$10 million. The business is predominantly international, with strong momentum across selected Southeast Asian and Greater China markets, including Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan region. Building on this regional traction, the Target Company intends to expand its marketing and user acquisition efforts in the United States and other Western markets.
Advancing Yiren Digital's AI Application-Layer Strategy
Yiren Digital views AI entertainment and emotional wellness as an important extension of its AI application-layer strategy, providing large-scale consumer engagement, proprietary interaction data and recurring monetization opportunities that complement its established fintech platform. In this sector, the Company intends to pursue a disciplined path to scale while continuing to evaluate additional investment and collaboration opportunities in AI-native consumer applications. If the warrant is exercised and all applicable conditions are satisfied, the Target Company could become an important part of Yiren Digital's AI entertainment and emotional wellness vertical.
About Yiren Digital
Yiren Digital Ltd. is a leading company specializing in financial technology and artificial intelligence innovation across multiple industries in China and global markets. The Company leverages advanced artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to enhance customer experience, optimize capital efficiency, and expand financial inclusion. Following the regulatory filing of its in-house developed Large Language Model Zhiyu, and the significant enhancement of its MagiCube Agent platform, Yiren Digital is establishing a new growth engine to accelerate its evolution into an AI-native, multi-industry operating platform extending beyond traditional financial services. For more information, please visit https://ir.yiren.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "hope," "going forward," "intend," "ought to," "plan," "project," "potential," "seek," "may," "might," "can," "could," "will," "would," "shall," "should," "is likely to" and the negative form of these words and other similar expressions. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "confident," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, and assessments of current market and operating conditions. These statements involve inherent risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors and other risks described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no, and expressly disclaims any, obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.
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