360 Enterprise Security Group

In 2005, a duo of entrepreneurs, Zhou Hongyi and Qi Xiangdong, founded Qihoo 360 in Beijing with a disruptive idea for China's burgeoning internet market: free antivirus software. This freemium model was a masterstroke, rapidly attracting a massive user base and establishing 360 Safe Guard as a household name. This strategy allowed the company to build a huge platform, which they would later monetize through online advertising and other internet services. A significant chapter began in 2011 when the company, then known as Qihoo 360, launched an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $175 million in what was, at the time, the largest US IPO for a Chinese company. For the next five years, it operated as a public entity in the US, expanding into new verticals like search engines with so.com, directly challenging established players like Baidu. The story took a sharp turn in 2016. Citing national interest, the company's leadership initiated a $9.3 billion deal to take the company private, delisting from the NYSE in July of that year. The move was a prelude to a homecoming. In 2018, Qihoo 360 completed a backdoor listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, emerging as 360 Security Technology Inc. This strategic relisting valued the company at many multiples of its previous US market capitalization, cementing its status as a major force in China's domestic technology and security landscape.