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LIZHI INC . Reports Third Quarter 2021 Unaudited Financial Results GUANGZHOU , Nov. 29 , 2021 / GLOBE NEWSWIRE / - LIZHI INC . ( “ LIZHI ” or the “ Company ” or “ We ” ) ( NASDAQ : LIZI ) , an audio - based social and entertainment platform , today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30 , 2021 . Third Quarter 2021 Financial and Operational Highlights • • • Net revenues were RMB504.8 million ( US $ 78.4 million ) in the third quarter of 2021 , representing a 40 % increase from RMB361.5 million in the third quarter of 2020 . Average total mobile MAUs¹ in the third quarter of 2021 reached 58.9 million , representing an increase of 5 % from 56.2 million in the third quarter of 2020 . Average total monthly paying users² in the third quarter of 2021 reached 485.5 thousand , representing an increase of 8 % from 448.3 thousand in the third quarter of 2020 . " We continued to focus on building a competitive audio ecosystem in the third quarter of 2021 , " said Mr. Jinnan ( Marco ) Lai , founder and CEO of LIZHI . “ Our strategic initiatives during the quarter focused on refining our operational strategies and harnessing our capabilities on core content categories that feature higher commercialization prospects . In doing so , we strive to unleash more commercialization potential presented in audio entertainment business and build a solid foundation for our long - term sustainable growth . In the third quarter of 2021 , our average audio entertainment mobile MAUs increased by 21 % year - over - year to 9.17 million . Coupled with optimized operational strategy , we expect the audio entertainment business to further boost the efficiency of paying user conversion and drive our revenue growth moving forward . " On the global front , we continued to refine and enhance the social networking capabilities of our TIYA App . We are pleased with its progress over the past year since its launch in the U.S. and will continue to introduce new functions and features that enhance user engagement . Building on our technology roadmap and iterative product development framework , we are diligently working to reinforce our ecosystem's virtuous cycle and offer a better user experience across our platforms and apps . We believe these endeavors will strengthen our core competencies as we navigate the evolving market landscape in China and further expand in the global audio space , " Mr. Lai concluded . Ms. Chengfang Lu , Acting Chief Financial Officer of LIZHI , stated , “ We're pleased to see another solid year- over - year revenue growth in the third quarter . Driven by our improved operational strategy , our gross margin grew to 30 % , up 500 basis points year - over - year . We believe the audio entertainment ecosystem we've built is fundamental to our long - term growth . Looking ahead , we will continue optimizing our audio entertainment business , enhancing commercialization capabilities , and leveraging our technology innovation and expertise , as well as actively exploring the international market , in order to achieve sustainable growth . " 1 Refers to the average monthly number of active users across our platforms and Apps in a given period , calculated by dividing ( i ) the sum of mobile active users for each month of such period , by ( ii ) the number of months in the same period . 2 Refers to the average monthly number of paying user in a given period , calculated by dividing ( i ) the total number of paying users in each month of such period by ( ii ) the number of months in the same period . 1