Liang Wenfeng

Founder of the AI startup DeepSeek Liang Wenfeng. Photo from Facebook

Unlike the entrepreneurs who built China's previous generation of tech giants, many of today's founders are focusing on AI models, robotics and advanced manufacturing, industries that require long research cycles, engineering-intensive teams and large-scale supply chains.

Among the most prominent is Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, whose open-source AI models have attracted global attention for delivering competitive performance at a fraction of the training cost of many Western rivals, according to CGTN.

DeepSeek gained international prominence after releasing its R1 model in January 2025, claiming performance comparable to OpenAI's ChatGPT at a lower cost.

The Hangzhou-based startup has since become one of the world's most closely watched AI companies, with researchers and developers embracing its open-source approach. The company's latest preview model supports a context length of one million tokens, according to its Hugging Face page.

Liang, 41, who sparked what many in China call the "DeepSeek moment," has become one of the country's most influential AI entrepreneurs. Time magazine included him on its "100 Most Influential People of 2025" list, writing that his rise marked a moment when "U.S. tech dominance was being openly questioned."

According to Forbes, Liang's net worth was estimated at about $11.5 billion as of June 8.

His rise from a gifted student in a rural village to the founder of one of China's most closely watched AI companies has attracted widespread attention as the country seeks a larger role in the global AI race.

Wang Xingxing

Wang Xingxing at a Unitree event. Photo by Unitree Robotics

Another entrepreneur drawing global attention is Wang Xingxing, 35, founder and chief executive of Unitree Robotics.

The company first gained recognition for its quadruped robotic dogs before expanding into humanoid robots, which have appeared at major public events, including China's CCTV Spring Festival Gala in February and the U.S.'s television show "America's Got Talent" last week.

Wang's entrepreneurial journey began a decade ago after a quadruped robot developed during his master's studies attracted international attention. Despite securing a coveted job at drone maker DJI, he left the company to launch Unitree.

At the time, China's technology industry was dominated by internet and e-commerce businesses, while robotics remained a niche field with uncertain commercial prospects. Recalling Unitree's early struggles in an interview with Xinhua, Wang said the company once had only about 100,000 yuan ($13,900) left in its bank account and that he had to build many components himself because he could not afford the necessary equipment.

Today, Unitree is among the world's leading humanoid robot manufacturers. According to Omdia, the company shipped about 4,200 humanoid robots in 2025, ranking second globally behind AgiBot.

Earlier this year, Wang said Unitree aims to deliver between 10,000 and 20,000 humanoid robots worldwide in 2026. The company has also demonstrated autonomous multi-robot coordination technology that allows groups of robots to move and perform tasks without relying on external positioning systems.

In a previous interview with CGTN, Wang said AI-powered robots could improve industrial productivity and find wider use across manufacturing and service industries. When asked about Unitree's ultimate goal, Wang told Xinhua: "Something like AGI, a general-purpose robot that can handle pretty much any task. That would make my life truly worthwhile."

Peng Zhihui

Peng Zhihui at a Agibot's event in 2023. Photo courtesy of Agibot

Another prominent entrepreneur is Peng Zhihui, co-founder of AgiBot and a former Huawei engineer who first gained widespread attention through videos showcasing self-built robotic arms, self-driving bicycles and other experimental hardware projects.

Known online as "Zhihui Jun," Peng, 33, launched AgiBot in 2023 to develop humanoid robots and embodied AI systems for industrial and commercial applications. The company has since become one of the fastest-growing players in the sector.

According to research firm Omdia, AgiBot was the world's largest supplier of humanoid robots in 2025, shipping 5,168 units and leading a market dominated by Chinese manufacturers. The company also announced in March this year that its 10,000th humanoid robot had rolled off the production line, highlighting the industry's shift from prototype development to large-scale manufacturing.

AgiBot has increasingly focused on deploying robots in real-world environments. In April, four of its humanoid robots completed an eight-hour shift on an assembly line in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, performing tasks such as sorting materials and identifying defects.

Peng has argued that China's competitive advantage in robotics extends beyond AI research to its manufacturing ecosystem. "Overseas markets started earlier on theory, but China wins on engineering, supply chains, and scenarios," he said.

He said those strengths have helped China emerge as a leader in deploying humanoid robots in real-world industrial settings. Despite rapid advances in the technology, he has emphasized that robots should complement human workers rather than replace them. "Robots are meant to enhance human capability, not substitute it," he said.