iFlytek's 2025 annual report reads as a paradox. Domestically it is mocked as the bid king — R&D hit RMB 5.364 billion, a RMB 2.316 billion model bid book led the industry, yet deducted non-recurring profit was only RMB 264 million and Q1 2026 swung to a RMB 430 million deducted loss. But overseas, the numbers tell a different story: 2025 overseas revenue broke RMB 1 billion, up 275%, with Q1 up another 167%; AI office-book sales overseas hit 68,000 units and overseas AI-marketing gross margin rose fivefold. The company walks on two legs of very different speeds.
Three cuts into global markets
Southeast Asia first: a Singapore regional HQ since 2024 anchors the region, with AI office books in retail channels and an education platform piloted in 62 schools; in April 2026 it signed with Vietnam's Viettel and formed a JV in Indonesia. The Middle East next: a Dubai office opened October 2024, Gulf revenue doubled in 2025, and the AINOTE series reached No.2 in local e-ink tablet sales within six months by supporting Arabic, English and Chinese. Europe last: at MWC 2026 Barcelona it debuted AI glasses weighing just 40g with multimodal real-time translation.
Why see it on the ground
iFlytek's playbook — tech-stack first, hard terminals deep, local ecosystem rooted — is easier to feel than to read. Standing in its Singapore command center or its Dubai office shows how cross-language AI is actually deployed, where the friction is, and how a Chinese AI firm earns trust market by market. That is the gap a report cannot close.
Three stops, three different answers
1 — The domestic headquarters: where an RMB 5.364 billion R&D budget and an RMB 2.316 billion model bid book actually go, and why the home business still loses money while overseas revenue grows 275%.
2 — The Singapore command center: the regional HQ anchoring Southeast Asia since 2024, with AI office books in retail channels, an education platform piloted in 62 schools, the April 2026 Viettel signing and the Indonesia joint venture.
3 — The Dubai office: opened October 2024, Gulf revenue doubled in 2025, and the AINOTE series reached No.2 in local e-ink tablet sales within six months by supporting Arabic, English and Chinese in one device.
iFlytek's story isn't in the annual report. It's in the Singapore command center and the Dubai office.
Questions delegations ask before they go
Do we have to be an AI company? No. The route is built for associations, chambers and investment teams that want the field picture of Chinese AI going global rather than the headline version.
Is it all inside China? No. The route runs from the domestic headquarters to the Singapore command center, so it can be built as a multi-country programme.
Is English interpretation provided? Yes, on site and across the overseas stops.
Who is it built for? Associations, chambers and investment teams. Tell us your dates, your delegation size and what you want to see, and we will shape the route.
What a delegation experiences
China Innovation Visits (https://www.chinatechvisits.com) customizes an iFlytek going-global route that runs from its domestic headquarters to the Singapore command center — experiencing the AI terminals, meeting the overseas leads, and seeing how a Chinese AI brand takes root abroad. It is built for associations, chambers and investment teams that want the real field picture, not the headline.
Arranging your iFlytek visit
We arrange the visit for you end to end: the introduction to the host, the scheduling on the Chinese side and English interpretation on site. Tell us your dates, your delegation size and what you want to see, and we will confirm what can be arranged. Start at chinatechvisits.com/company-visits.