Internet Giants' Executives Turn to Entrepreneurship
Similar to Wang Xiaoyi, Liu Bocong, the former algorithm head of Meituan's autonomous vehicle delivery department, and his colleague Sun Yang have also chosen to start a business in the AI glasses sector. They established Hangzhou Guangzhi Spacetime Technology Co., Ltd. in late April this year. Their main product is AGI-driven AR glasses, which reportedly has secured tens of millions of dollars in funding.
According to public information, Liu Bocong graduated from CMU in 2010 and then joined Qualcomm. In 2014, he moved to Baidu's autonomous driving research department in the US. After 2016, he was responsible for driverless vehicle module design at Pony.ai, and joined Meituan in 2020. Before leaving to start his own business, Sun Yang was L10 at Meituan. In his early years, he worked on AIoT R&D at Amazon and Google, and had served as the technical director of Mobike and R&D director of Momenta.
AI-driven smart glasses have become the hottest track at present, and Meta is also very optimistic about the future prospects. On June 19, Meta announced a restructuring of its hardware division Reality Labs, establishing a new "wearable devices" department responsible for the subsequent development of Ray-Ban smart glasses.
According to previous reports, Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses sales have exceeded one million units. Zuckerberg stated, "Multiple styles have sold out, and the popularity has exceeded expectations." The newly established wearable devices department is based on recognition of market performance. Meta hopes to reverse the continuous losses of Reality Labs through AI hardware.
The most crucial aspect of entrepreneurship is to clearly define the product direction, which is especially true in the domestic market.
An industry insider told Brand Factory that the domestic market is fiercely competitive, and usually with limited budgets. Few institutions are willing to spend huge sums to bet on a technology that may or may not succeed or have prospects. Projects that have been verified for feasibility and application prospects by foreign counterparts are the most favored choices for domestic enterprises and institutions.
Another entrepreneur from Meituan is former Meituan Vice President Bao Ta. He established Beijing Qidian Lingzhi Technology Co., Ltd. in July last year. The main product is children's toys equipped with AI large models, bringing more learning and life fun to children through real chat interactions and educational AI games. Currently, the product is in the internal testing stage.
Bao Ta won the NOI gold medal in 1996 and was admitted to Tsinghua University's Computer Science Department. He graduated with a master's degree from Tsinghua in 2003. Afterwards, Bao Ta joined NetEase Youdao and served as Vice President and General Manager of Youdao Dictionary, responsible for Youdao's language-related businesses, including Youdao Dictionary, Youdao Translation, and Youdao Online Education business line. He joined Meituan in 2017, overseeing the overall technical capability building of finance.
It's not just Meituan executives who are starting businesses in the AI hardware field from internet giants. Li Jiantao, the former product and business head of Alibaba DAMO Academy's XR Lab, joined plaud in November last year to develop AI recording machine products for recording and intelligent organization of calls, meetings, and other scenarios. Reportedly, the product's sales have now exceeded 100 million yuan.
According to information, Li Jiantao joined DAMO Academy in 2021, responsible for the products and business of the XR Lab, and was also the AIoT business head of the Machine Intelligence Lab. Before joining Alibaba, he had long served as the product head and deputy general manager of Sogou's IoT business unit, responsible for the development of multiple smart hardware products.
"Ten years ago, the popularization of mobile internet created a wave of smart hardware. Now, hardware empowered by AI large models will demonstrate true intelligence, which is an even greater opportunity," an industry insider commented.
Wave of Departures from Hardware Giants
It's not just executives from internet giants who see the future potential of AI hardware, but also personnel from traditional hardware companies. They have a profound understanding of how to create a successful hardware product and believe that with the empowerment of AI large models, they can take it to the next level.
For example, Xie Yujia, former assistant to the CEO of Anker, established Shenzhen Sanermao Technology Co., Ltd. in March this year, focusing on AI children's toy products. The project has already received investment from top-tier venture capital funds.
It is understood that Xie Yujia experienced Anker's growth from hundreds of millions to billions. He resigned in 2018 to participate in the founding of Global OneClick, which has developed into a leading representative in the overseas service field. He has served many well-known hardware projects such as Ecoflow, Narwal, Toozoo, Dreame, and Huami, with rich experience in this field.
Zhou Lingfeng, former head of Narwal's middle platform, also participated in the establishment of Shenzhen Wuyun Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. in November last year. According to informed sources, the company's products may be related to AI NAS, and it has already received 10 million yuan in angel round funding from Delian Capital and Ruimou Investment in January this year. Information shows that Zhou Lingfeng had worked as an engineer at ByteDance and Huawei HiSilicon, responsible for testing work.
There's also Mao Hanyong, former Vice President of Overseas Business at Huami Technology, and Gu Yan, former Vice President & General Manager of Software Engineering Center at Huami Technology. They established Shenzhen Xingchong Future Technology Co., Ltd. at the end of February this year, targeting the overseas market to create pet hardware products based on AI technology and smart wearables.
Public information shows that Gu Yan joined Huami Technology at its inception and was one of the company's founding members. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2011 and was a visiting scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. Mao Hanyong joined Huami Technology in 2018 and had been responsible for Huami's overseas business. In 2021, both of them left Huami Technology.
From the products chosen by various entrepreneurs, the current AI hardware entrepreneurship directions can be roughly divided into two categories: functional products and emotional products.
The former includes AI glasses, which have become a popular choice under the successful demonstration effect of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. There are also AI mice, AI headphones, AI recorders, AI bracelets, etc., following the route of adding AI functions to traditional products. The latter explores the emotional value of AI, with products such as AI children's toys and smart pets.
Brand Factory has noticed that many entrepreneurs have placed their companies in Guangdong Shenzhen, especially those choosing to start businesses in the consumer AI hardware field. An industry insider said, "Shenzhen has supply chain advantages, comprehensive industries, and controllable costs, making it easier to create a hardware product. This is a very big attraction for startups."
It's also worth noting that many AI hardware projects initially target overseas markets. For the development of such new products, there are mature industry chains abroad. For example, the first step is often to crowdfund on platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. "If you can crowdfund $400,000, the project can start," an entrepreneur said frankly.
Collective Exploration
AI hardware is still in its early stages, and everything is yet to be determined. For entrepreneurs, finding a suitable direction is more important than technology.
Take the currently hottest AI glasses as an example. Many people believe they are not so suitable for entrepreneurs. Some investors say that AI glasses have high technical barriers. Fitting microphones, speakers, cameras, chips, batteries, and other components into a frame weighing only tens of grams, while ensuring it's fashionable, good-looking, and comfortable to wear, requires very strict standards for industrial designers and the maturity of the hardware supply chain. It's almost impossible for startups to balance functional attributes with size and weight well.
For entrepreneurs, upgrading ordinary products like headphones and bracelets with AI intelligence might be a better choice. The technology is more mature, and because these products are more of a necessity, consumers are willing to pay as long as the user experience is indeed improved, making it easy to achieve profitability.
Mimouse Technology launched the AI large model mouse MiMouse M4 AI in May last year, selling nearly 100,000 units in less than a month after its launch. The M4 AI mouse is equipped with Baidu's Wenxin large model, giving the mouse multiple functions such as AI creation, voice typing, voice translation, OCR screenshot, and web navigation, priced at 599 yuan. Feng Haihong, founder of Mimouse Technology, said, "Compared to the smart voice stage of entrepreneurship, the AI large model mouse has increased the company's revenue by 70%."
However, due to low barriers to entry, many people have already entered fields like AI headphones, and competition is gradually becoming fierce. It's not easy to discover new demand scenarios. "Almost all profitable ideas have been tried, which made me realize that starting a business in existing directions is indeed full of challenges. So I started to consider turning to hardware fields that haven't been fully developed," said an executive from a large company who is still considering entrepreneurial directions.
Therefore, whether upgrading traditional products with AI can ultimately succeed largely depends on the entrepreneur's vision and whether they can identify a high-frequency and necessary scenario.