iiMedia Research

iiMedia Research (艾媒咨询) was founded in 2007 by Zhang Yi (张毅), who serves as its CEO and chief analyst. Over the following decade and a half, iiMedia built its reputation as a Chinese internet industry data and consulting firm, but through 2020 it published no dedicated reports on virtual idols, virtual humans, or digital humans. This gap was consistent with the broader trajectory of China's digital human sector: the concept had not yet crystallized into a distinct commercial category, and the conditions for systematic coverage would not emerge until the metaverse wave of 2021 brought virtual human technologies to the forefront of Chinese investment and media attention.

In August 2021, iiMedia published its first dedicated report in this space, the 2021 China Virtual Idol Industry Development and Netizen Survey Research Report, a 27-page document that established the firm's foundational market-sizing methodology for the sector. The report drew a structural distinction between the core market — covering technology infrastructure and intellectual property production — and the driven or peripheral market, which encompasses downstream entertainment, e-commerce, and advertising revenues enabled by virtual idols. Using this dual-market framework, iiMedia sized the 2020 core market at ¥34.6 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 70.3 percent, and the driven market at ¥64.56 billion. The report surveyed netizen behavior and found that 63.6 percent of respondents followed virtual idols, with 92.3 percent of that fan base falling in the 19-to-30 age range. This inaugural report attracted wide media attention following its release and was cited by People's Daily, TMTPost, The Paper, and multiple academic publications.

During early to mid-2022, iiMedia released the 2022 China Virtual Human Industry Development Research Report, a 27-page document that significantly broadened the analytical frame from virtual idols specifically to virtual humans more generally. The report updated market figures to reflect 2021 performance, sizing the virtual idol-driven market at ¥1,074.9 billion and the core market at ¥62.2 billion, and examined user preference data indicating that more than 70 percent of consumers cited appearance and voice as the primary attractions of virtual humans. It also found that 59.5 percent of respondents had first discovered virtual humans through e-commerce platforms, signaling the commercial channels through which the category was reaching mainstream audiences.

By mid-2022, iiMedia had released a second report for the year, the 2022 China Virtual Human Industry Commercialization Research Report, which extended to 64 pages and introduced a typological distinction between service-type virtual humans — deployed to perform functional tasks for enterprises — and identity-type virtual humans — which operate as distinct personalities or branded characters. This report gave particular attention to the emerging virtual anchor category, noting that 47.5 percent of survey respondents believed real and virtual anchors would ultimately coexist rather than one displacing the other. It also highlighted a significant structural driver: a talent gap iiMedia estimated at 800 million person-slots in the livestreaming sector as of 2021, which was creating demand for virtual anchor solutions capable of operating at scale without equivalent human staffing. The report traced the expansion of virtual human applications beyond entertainment into finance, e-commerce, education, and advertising.

In June 2022, iiMedia released the initial version of the 2022–2023 China Virtual Human Industry In-Depth Research and Investment Value Analysis Report, an 84-page document combining deep industry analysis with an investment value assessment. That same year, iiMedia launched the first China Virtual Human Industry Conference and published the 2022 H1 China Virtual Human Top 100 rankings under its proprietary iiMedia Rankings (艾媒金榜) brand. The top-ranked virtual human in that listing was Luo Tianyi (洛天依), China's most established virtual idol, followed by Liu Yexi (柳夜熙) in second place and Jiaran (嘉然) in third. Consumer awareness data included in the investment analysis report showed that awareness of virtual humans had climbed from 63.6 percent in 2021 to 87.8 percent in 2022, a rise iiMedia attributed to intensifying media coverage and platform-driven discovery. The report was subsequently cited by the 21st Century Business Herald, Sina Finance, and the Tencent Cloud Developer Community. In February 2023, iiMedia issued an updated version of this same report, incorporating new data and revised analysis.

March 2023 marked the most concentrated single moment of output in iiMedia's digital human research history. On March 31, 2023, in Guangzhou, iiMedia hosted the 2nd China Virtual Human Industry Conference and AIGC Innovation Development Forum, at which four full research reports were released simultaneously. The first of these was the 2023 China Virtual Idol Industry Development Research Report, a 45-page document covering virtual idol classification by type — including two-dimensional characters, hyper-realistic digital humans, and digital twins — and finding that more than 80 percent of consumers reported greater willingness to purchase products endorsed by virtual idols. The report included case studies of iFLYTEK Music (科大讯飞音乐) and its virtual idol Luya, Baidu (百度) and its digital characters Du Xiaoxiao (度晓晓) and Xijia-jia (希加加), and Yuanyuan Technology (元圆科技) and its virtual idol Tianyu (天妤). Coverage of the report appeared in Sina Tech on the day of release.

The second report released at the March 2023 conference was the 2023 China Virtual Anchor Industry Research Report, comprising 43 pages and examining the virtual anchor category through a PEST analytical framework. It documented that 948 new enterprises had registered in the virtual anchor sector in 2022, with Guangdong Province accounting for 640 of those registrations, and noted that 36.7 percent of surveyed respondents expected to increase their spending on virtual anchor content. The report explored the potential for ChatGPT and other large language model systems to be integrated into virtual anchor production workflows, and included case studies of Bilibili (哔哩哔哩) and its program of more than 60 virtual content creators, as well as CCTV Video (央视频) and Kuaishou (快手). The third report released that day was the 2023 China AIGC Industry Development Research Report, a 47-page document that explicitly classified virtual digital humans as falling within the AIGC domain, defining them as a category of deeply synthesized and computation-driven entities. This report sized the China AIGC core market at ¥7.93 billion for 2023 and projected growth to ¥276.74 billion by 2028, identifying virtual humans, livestream e-commerce, and gaming as the top three beneficiary sectors of AIGC technology adoption, and featured case studies of Wondershare (万兴科技) and its Virbo product, Baidu, and CloudWalk (云从科技). The fourth report released at the conference was the 2023 China Virtual Human Industry Development and Business Trends Research Report, a 72-page comprehensive survey finding that 88.0 percent of the public was aware of virtual humans, that virtual anchors had become the most popular type at 64.1 percent recognition, and that nearly 90 percent of respondents consumed virtual anchor content in some form. This report documented the impact of ChatGPT's emergence and Baidu's Ernie large language model on the virtual human industry and was subsequently cited in a 2025 Springer academic chapter co-authored by Gao, Lin, and Tang.

In late 2023, iiMedia completed the 2023 China AI Digital Human Industry Research Report, though some secondary sources record its wider availability as falling in February 2024. This 47-page report adopted the newer terminology of "AI digital human" in its title, reflecting a broader industry shift toward positioning virtual human technologies within the AI product category rather than the earlier entertainment-inflected framing. It sized the 2022 core market at ¥120.8 billion, representing growth of 94.2 percent year on year, projected the market would reach ¥480.6 billion by 2025, and cited 6,377 AI patents filed in China in 2022 as evidence of the underlying technology infrastructure. The report introduced case studies of Yuanjing Technology (元境科技), Huayuan Computing (华院计算), and the New Zealand-based company Soul Machines, broadening iiMedia's comparative scope to include international players alongside domestic enterprises.

On April 19, 2024, iiMedia released its most substantial digital human publication to that point, the 2024 White Paper on China's Virtual Digital Human Industry Development, at the 2024 China Virtual Digital Human Industry Forum and White Paper Launch event held in Guangzhou. At 95 pages with 40 charts, the white paper was the longest and most comprehensive document in iiMedia's digital human research series to date. Zhang Yi delivered the opening address and personally released the document at the event, which also featured an awards ceremony under the name Fist Award (拳头奖). The white paper sized the 2023 driven market at ¥3,334.7 billion and the core market at ¥205.2 billion, published the 2024 Virtual Human IP Top 100 ranking alongside the main document, and reported that more than 50 percent of surveyed enterprises were using virtual human technology. Case studies included Yuanli Digital Technology (原力数字科技), iFLYTEK Music and Luya, Baidu, Yuanyuan Technology and Tianyu, and NetDragon Tianno (网龙天诺) and its virtual anchor Xueyu Renyun (雪域任运). Sina Finance republished coverage of the white paper the following day, and it was subsequently cited in a Springer academic chapter.

Also in 2024, iiMedia published the 2024 China AI Digital Human Industry Status and User Behavior Survey Data, a data product classified within iiMedia's data section rather than its standard reports catalog, finding that 49.73 percent of enterprises had purchased custom digital humans, that 42.86 percent of those reported cost reductions of 20 to 30 percent attributable to digital human deployments, and that multi-modal capability was the top functional requirement cited by 37.66 percent of respondents. That same year, iiMedia published a 2024 China Virtual Anchor Top 10 ranking under its iiMedia Rankings brand, in which Xueyu Renyun placed first with a score of 88.66, Huli-li (狐璃璃) ranked second, and Li Haoya (李好鸭) ranked third. iiMedia also released the 2024 China AI E-commerce Industry Research Report, a 39-page document that, while primarily focused on AI e-commerce, devoted substantial content to digital humans as the key strategic direction for AI e-commerce deployment, documenting Baidu's investment of ¥1 billion in providing free AI digital human tools to merchants and noting that JD.com (京东) operated more than 70 digital human models across its platforms.

In early 2025, iiMedia released the 2025 China AI Digital Human Industry Consumer Behavior Survey Data, a 27-page document finding that 65.03 percent of enterprises had applied AI digital humans in their operations, with 58.78 percent of adopters concentrated among small enterprises, and that the leading application sectors were e-commerce, healthcare, education, and finance. In early to mid-2025, iiMedia also released the 2025 Global Digital Human Livestream E-commerce Industry Trends Report, a 53-page study that sized the 2024 global digital human e-commerce livestream market at US$492.82 billion and projected growth to US$767.93 billion by 2026. That report analyzed major platform operators including Amazon, JD.com, and Taobao (淘宝), and examined the structural role of 5G infrastructure in enabling livestreaming at scale alongside evolving regulatory and intellectual property protection trends affecting virtual human deployments globally. Also in 2025, iiMedia made available the 2025–2030 China Digital Human (Virtual Human) Industry Innovation and Development Trends Research Report, a premium deep-research product priced at ¥13,400 and covering long-range forecasting, industry chain analysis, virtual reality headset data, motion capture technology, and policy and investment roadmaps for the six-year period.

On November 7, 2025, iiMedia released the 2025 China Digital Human Industry Development Report (2025年中国数字人产业发展报告) at the 2025 China International Intelligent Communication Forum, held in Wuxi and co-hosted by CCTV.com (央视网), the China Internet Association (中国互联网协会), and the Wuxi Municipal Government. Zhang Yi delivered the keynote presentation and personally released the 52-page, 14-chart report at the event. The report sized the 2024 core digital human market at ¥339.2 billion and projected growth to ¥935.6 billion by 2030, while placing the 2024 driven market at ¥4,785.3 billion with a 2030 projection of ¥10,468.6 billion, representing a roughly tenfold increase in the core market from the ¥34.6 billion figure first established in iiMedia's 2021 inaugural report. The 2025 report noted that China's AI large model market had surged 108.1 percent in the reference period and that the global AI chip market reached US$63 billion in 2024. It highlighted the CCTV virtual anchor Xiao C (小C) as a case study in public broadcaster adoption of virtual human technology and featured the Wuxi Digital Human Matrix — comprising four government-commissioned virtual human characters named Huanxi (欢曦), Fubao (福宝), Xiaocheng (小城), and Xiaoyun (小运) — as an example of municipal-level deployment. The 2025 Digital Human City Development Index Top 20 was released alongside the report, with Shenzhen ranking first, Beijing second, Guangzhou third, Shanghai fourth, and Wuxi sixth. By this stage, iiMedia's terminology had fully consolidated around the term "数字人" rather than the earlier "虚拟人," mirroring the broader Chinese industry's own linguistic shift as virtual humans moved from entertainment novelty toward AI-powered enterprise infrastructure spanning e-commerce livestreaming, customer service, and large-scale content production.

https://iimedia.cn

• 2025 Digital Human City Development Index Top 20

• 2025 China Digital Human Industry Development Report

• 2025–2030 China Digital Human (Virtual Human) Industry Innovation and Development Trends Research Report

• 2025 Global Digital Human Livestream E-commerce Industry Trends Report

• 2025 China AI Digital Human Industry Consumer Behavior Survey Data

• 2024 China AI E-commerce Industry Research Report

• 2024 China Virtual Anchor Top 10

• 2024 China AI Digital Human Industry Status and User Behavior Survey Data

• 2024 Virtual Human IP Top 100

• 2024 White Paper on China’s Virtual Digital Human Industry Development

• 2023 China AI Digital Human Industry Research Report

• 2023 China Virtual Human Industry Development and Business Trends Research Report

• 2023 China AIGC Industry Development Research Report

• 2023 China Virtual Anchor Industry Research Report

• 2023 China Virtual Idol Industry Development Research Report

• Updated version of the 2022–2023 China Virtual Human Industry In-Depth Research and Investment Value Analysis Report, issued in February 2023

• 2022 H1 China Virtual Human Top 100

• 2022–2023 China Virtual Human Industry In-Depth Research and Investment Value Analysis Report

• 2022 China Virtual Human Industry Commercialization Research Report

• 2022 China Virtual Human Industry Development Research Report

• 2021 China Virtual Idol Industry Development and Netizen Survey Research Report