Online video platform iQIYI debuts on Nasdaq

Representatives of iQIYI (IQ), one of the biggest video streaming platforms in China, rang the Nasdaq Stock Market opening bell on Thursday in celebration of its initial public offering (IPO).

iQIYI Founder & CEO Yu Gong, center, and Robin Li, center right, co-founder of the search engine Baidu, ring the Nasdaq MarketSite opening bell, during iQIYI IPO listing ceremonies, in New York's Times Square, Thursday, March 29, 2018. [Photo: IC]

iQIYI traded on the Nasdaq on Thursday under the ticker IQ, pricing its IPO of 125 million American depository shares (ADSs) at 18.0 U.S. dollars per ADS, for a total offering size of approximately 875 million dollars.

Founded on April 22, 2010 by Baidu, China's largest online search engine, the company originally called QIYI changed its name to iQIYI in November 2011.

Netflix (NFLX), an American entertainment company, announced on April 25, 2017 that a licensing deal has been reached with iQIYI that would see some Netflix original productions be made available on iQIYI. The Beijing-based iQIYI is considered by many to be the "Netflix of China."

iQIYI has more than 500 million monthly active users.