(Yicai Global) July 6 -- The head of AcFun, a Chinese anime barrage video site acquired by short video platform Kuaishou, has reportedly resigned after two years in post because of the business’ lackluster performance.

Wen Min left recently, but the team he brought from Netease was still working at AcFun, Beijing News reported yesterday, citing an unidentified insider at the parent company. The business was handed over to Kuaishou’s operations team for unified management, it added.

Wen’s departure may have been due to poor performance at the Beijing-based firm. Since he took office two years ago, AcFun’s daily and monthly active user numbers have fallen short of expectations, the source said.

Kuaishou has yet to make an official announcement on Wen’s reported departure. Beijing News did not disclose where Wen would go after leaving AcFun.

Kuaishou appointed Wen to head AcFun in June 2019, when he also managed Kuaishou’s two-dimensional business development. He had worked for many years at internet firm Netease. Wen was deputy general manager of its literary and comics division, with extensive experience in the animation community.

Founded in 2007, AcFun was China’s first barrage video website focusing on the two-dimensional field. But its growth slowed with the rapid rise of competitor Bilibili. Kuaishou bought the firm in 2018, when it was on the verge of bankruptcy, for an undisclosed sum.

After completing the acquisition, Kuaishou invested CNY570 million (USD88.2 million) in 2019 to support AcFun’s uploaders, or creators. Last August, AcFun announced a 90 percent year-on-year increase in uploaders, a 79 percent rise in submissions and a 172 percent hike in fans, without disclosing any specific numbers.

Editor: Peter Thomas