Artificial intelligence Photo: VCG

Multiple Chinese companies released their interim earnings reports last week, showing that from catering to e-commerce, industry, and software, the artificial intelligence (AI) transformation has delivered tangible gains in efficiency, cost optimization and growth. 

A Chinese expert said on Sunday that AI has evolved from an "auxiliary tool" into "core infrastructure," and it is expected to significantly boost long-term competitiveness and scalable expansion, potentially driving systemic restructuring across both traditional and emerging industries and unlocking greater commercial value.

Stcn.com reported on Sunday details from private-cloud software vendor Bingo Software Co's latest interim results, which showed that the company recorded net profit of 4.42 million yuan ($656,127.4), reversing a year-earlier loss. The turnaround was mainly driven by its AI all-in-one machine series, which contributed about 45 million yuan in revenue during the period and became a new growth engine.

The company's profit model has undergone upgrading, marking a shift from a single software-service-driven approach to a dual-engine model powered by "cloud + AI" computing power, with an initial inflection point in performance now emerging, it noted.

In the past few days, interim earnings reports from multiple Chinese companies have collectively sent the same signal: AI has moved from concept to large-scale empowerment and is reshaping operational logic across industries including catering, e-commerce, and software, Chen Jing, a vice president of the Technology and Strategy Research Institute, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Xiaocaiyuan, known as "China's first Chinese fine-dining stock," announced its 2026 interim results on Friday evening. As of June 30, the group had recorded revenue of 2.903 billion yuan, up 7 percent year-on-year, and profit for the period of 289 million yuan.

The company accelerated its AI and hardware intelligent upgrades, as nearly 300 stores have introduced cooking robots to handle standardized back-of-house processes and the AI digital system covers core operations including intelligent ordering, customer-flow forecasting, capacity scheduling, and business district activities. 

CFO Wang Xiang said that the combination of cooking robots and AI operational tools has improved multiple store performance metrics. Stores equipped with intelligent devices outperform traditional ones in back-of-house per-capita output, meal preparation efficiency, and table turnover rates, while dish standardization and product consistency continue to improve. At present, more than 80 percent of stores routinely use AI operational tools, according to stcn.com.

AI was a high-frequency term mentioned in JINGDONG industrials' interim results. As of the end of June, the company had deployed more than 70 AI agents covering procurement, fulfillment, and operations scenarios. 

Data shows that AI-driven incremental gross merchandise value (GMV) accounted for 6.5 percent of GMV from key enterprise clients. About 30 percent of standard product data was automatically generated by AI, boosting product creation efficiency by 14.5 times, while productivity in core positions increased by 16.6 percent.

This means that AI is no longer merely a cost item that consumes research and development expenses, but is beginning to transform into a productive tool that drives incremental revenue and efficiency improvements, analysts said.

Chen noted that the role of AI for enterprises is upgrading from an "auxiliary tool" to "core infrastructure," and it holds considerable development potential. Although current investments are creating some pressure on profits, there may be breakthroughs in long-term competitiveness.

In the future, high technology will become the underlying operating system for enterprise transformation. Its significance goes far beyond being merely a tool and is likely to drive revolutionary industrial restructuring, Chen said.