Bilibili
Xu Yi created a prototype website named Mikufans.cn on the 26th of June 2009. He spent three days building this platform as a fandom community for Hatsune Miku. The site grew rapidly and was relaunched as Bilibili on the 14th of January 2010. Xu Yi chose the name from the anime A Certain Scientific Railgun to honor the character Mikoto Misaka. The company celebrated her birthday every year starting May 2. In 2011, the domain bilibili.us was revoked due to registrar restrictions. The team switched to bilibili.tv on the 25th of June 2011. Hangzhou Huandian Technology was founded later that year to operate the service. By April 2012, the startup had nine employees who all understood Japanese language and culture. Two of them were web developers including Xu Yi himself. The rest worked as editors or moderators. An agreement with Nico Nico Douga allowed the broadcast of Fate/Zero episodes starting the 7th of April 2012. Three episodes aired before government censors halted the program. Hangzhou Huandian Technology received a fine of ¥10,000 for unauthorized broadcasting operations. The homepage began displaying logos in August 2012 to show affiliation with Shanghai Media Group. Anonymous visitors were redirected to subdomains owned by state-owned subsidiaries.
Bilibili introduced a real-time captioning system called danmu in its early years. These comments appear as scrolling subtitles overlaid directly onto video screens. The visual effect resembles streams of bullets from shooter games. Users can customize style, format, and movement of these text overlays. Registered members must pass verification checks and link phone numbers to post comments. Non-registered users face a limit of twenty characters per comment. Premium accounts allow up to one hundred twenty characters plus color and size adjustments. The platform offers rolling, top, and bottom comment types. A special high-level feature requires uploader permission and costs two coins. Community slang like 2333 indicates laughter while!!! marks high energy alerts. Emoticons such as (° for all °) convey confidence or pride among participants. The Ministry of Culture criticized the system for enabling hateful message spread during leisure viewing. Bilibili launched an account blocking function on the 26th of February 2017 to regulate content quality. Administrators delete offensive remarks and penalize offenders through temporary or permanent suspensions. A discipline committee formed the 15th of June 2017 allowed members to arbitrate violations within specific communities. They vote on penalties based on whether behavior breaks laws.
Chen Rui became CEO and chairman in November 2014 after joining as the fifth employee. He started watching anime on the platform in 2010 before meeting Xu Yi four years later. Chen invested early and convinced others to join the company. In October 2016, Bilibili sponsored the Shanghai Sharks basketball team which renamed itself Shanghai Bilibili. Both entities originated from Shanghai. December 2017 saw the purchase of e-sports team IM for League of Legends. It was renamed Bilibili Gaming or BLG. January 2018 brought acquisition of LPL spring competition rights plus World Championship broadcasts. September 2018 added Hangzhou Spark Overwatch League team participation for the 2019 season. The company filed for an initial public offering worth up to US$0.4 billion in March 2018. NASDAQ listing occurred the 28th of March 2018. Sony Corporation acquired a 4.98% minority stake the 9th of April 2020 valuing Bilibili at billions. This deal included expansion agreements for anime and mobile games within China. Bilibili Esports partnered with Ping An Bank later that year. Original programming began with Informal Talks fourth season production. Rap for Youth aired August 2020 while Voice Monster debuted December 2020. A secondary stock listing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange opened the 29th of March 2021 at HK$790 per share.
Bilibili elected mascots named 22 and 33 through community voting from July 7 to the 16th of August 2010. Seventy-two artworks entered the contest resulting in a tie with 1824 votes each. Artists Hao and AUER created winning designs respectively. Hao explained his fluttery electric shock hairstyle reflected the platform name theme during interviews in 2018. The annual New Year Festival started in 2010 featuring forty influencers creating special programs. Content shifted focus from Japanese anime to traditional Chinese culture beginning 2016. Advertisers joined the festival for the first time in 2018. Large-scale offline gatherings called BML began hosting three-day events since 2013. Core activities now include BML SP for overseas guests plus VR virtual idol performances. Bilibili World launched as an official event in 2017 at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition Center. It moved annually to Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center starting 2021. These carnivals attract fans of anime and manga genres globally. Affiliated communities like Corari supported collaboration projects while DrawYoo fostered creative drawing skills. The Ninth Channel served as a support forum for members. Chen Rui stated users represent diverse groups developing personalized cultural needs unmatched by predecessors.
Cai Xukun became NBA spokesperson January 2019 sparking controversy over parody videos mocking his introduction clip. Hundreds of parodies appeared on Bilibili before he issued lawsuit notices demanding removal. The platform refused penalties claiming videos were not illegal despite potential backlash risks. Verification processes halted temporarily to prevent spam floods. September 2019 revealed illegal server rentals in Taiwan requiring immediate cessation ordered by National Communications Commission. Video-on-demand services from mainland China remain forbidden due to national security concerns. April 2019 saw source code leaks published on GitHub accumulating over six thousand stars quickly. Copies persisted across platforms despite takedown efforts. Bilibili responded stating older versions leaked defensive steps taken to protect user data security. An employee died the 4th of February 2022 at home while working censorship duties in Wuhan subdivisional office. His nickname was known internally but family received visits from officials the 8th of February 2022. Plans emerged employing one thousand additional censorship workers reducing workload pressures. Authority misuse allegations surfaced the 12th of January 2025 when a user claimed an employee inserted malicious code causing blank pages and repeated ban messages. Chat logs showed threats involving doxxing after disagreements occurred. Four days later Bilibili confirmed termination reported case regulators issued public apologies removed code disciplined supervisors offered affected users one-year premium memberships as compensation.
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Common questions
When was Bilibili founded and who created it?
Xu Yi created a prototype website named Mikufans.cn on the 26th of June 2009. The site grew rapidly and was relaunched as Bilibili on the 14th of January 2010.
What is the origin story behind the name Bilibili?
Xu Yi chose the name from the anime A Certain Scientific Railgun to honor the character Mikoto Misaka. The company celebrated her birthday every year starting May 2.
How does the danmu feature work on Bilibili?
Bilibili introduced a real-time captioning system called danmu in its early years where comments appear as scrolling subtitles overlaid directly onto video screens. Registered members must pass verification checks and link phone numbers to post comments while non-registered users face a limit of twenty characters per comment.
Who became CEO of Bilibili and when did they take over leadership?
Chen Rui became CEO and chairman in November 2014 after joining as the fifth employee. He started watching anime on the platform in 2010 before meeting Xu Yi four years later.
When were the mascots 22 and 33 elected for Bilibili?
Bilibili elected mascots named 22 and 33 through community voting from July 7 to the 16th of August 2010. Seventy-two artworks entered the contest resulting in a tie with 1824 votes each.