In a sense, the ‘stubborn determination’ of young people may well be one of the key factors behind entrepreneurial success. Ru Binxin, born in 1992, is just such a young entrepreneur. He graduated from the University of Oxford, where he completed his undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees, and has also worked at Huawei’s Noah’s Ark Lab and Google X. Upon returning to China, he was offered a position in Huawei’s ‘Young Talents’ programme, but ultimately chose not to join the large corporation. Instead, in 2022, he co-founded Shiyuan Technology with his partners, entering the relatively niche sector of ‘AI + advanced manufacturing’. They aim to utilise cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to develop high-end hardware and software integrated systems, upgrading traditional manufacturing automation equipment into more intelligent systems. After four years of development, the company now employs nearly 140 staff, over 75% of whom are engaged in R&D, with the majority being members of the post-90s generation. Currently, several of the smart devices developed by the company have entered mass production, with clients including well-known enterprises such as Foxconn, JMC and China Aerospace. The company has also secured backing from multiple investment firms, with its valuation now exceeding 1 billion yuan. Ru Binxin believes that Shanghai is an ideal city for the development of ‘AI + advanced manufacturing’. Not only does it attract high-calibre talent, but the government also provides substantial support to start-ups. For example, in addition to providing office space, the government helps companies connect with funding institutions, offering resources and opportunities to support their growth. As early as 2022, Ru Binxin had already realised that artificial intelligence would inevitably bring about significant changes to the manufacturing sector in the future. However, most manufacturing enterprises lack the necessary technical expertise in AI and find it difficult to attract top-tier AI talent. At the same time, if companies wish to genuinely utilise AI technology, they must invest substantial capital and resolve numerous technical challenges. Consequently, Ru Binxin decided to take on this ‘difficult but right’ challenge. In advanced manufacturing sectors such as consumer electronics and semiconductors, much of the production equipment has long been manufactured by companies from Germany, Japan and South Korea. Shiyuan Technology’s objective is not merely to achieve ‘domestic substitution’, but to utilise AI technology to redefine these devices and achieve ‘domestic surpassing’. For example, on consumer electronics production lines, there is a type of intelligent inspection equipment. In the past, whenever a factory switched products, engineers had to re-calibrate the equipment. For complex circuit boards, the calibration process often took several hours, or even a whole day, and the production line had to be halted. This not only wasted time but also increased costs for the company. Shiyuan Technology utilises large AI models and agent technology to simplify what was once a complex calibration process into a ‘one-click’ operation. A task that previously took eight hours now takes just one minute. Furthermore, this equipment no longer relies on experienced engineers; even novices can operate it with ease after just half an hour of training. Such technology helps businesses improve line-change efficiency by a hundredfold. Interestingly, 99% of the company’s employees have never had any prior exposure to manufacturing; most come from AI firms or prestigious universities. Ru Binxin believes this is actually an advantage. Traditional manufacturing relies heavily on seasoned master craftsmen who have long worked in fixed ways and are prone to being constrained by conventional thinking. By contrast, these AI professionals, lacking industry experience, are better able to approach problems from fresh perspectives. They redesign factory automation equipment as if it were an AI product, thereby devising more creative and groundbreaking solutions. Of course, they have also encountered many difficulties along the way. Ru Binxin recalls that, when the company first started out, they underestimated the barriers to entry in the manufacturing sector. In many internet industries, users are willing to adopt AI products as long as they score around 70 or 80 per cent, as people have a certain tolerance for errors. However, in the advanced manufacturing sector, equipment must achieve a score of 99 per cent or even 100 per cent before it can be genuinely deployed in large-scale production. He believes that the leap from 0 to 80 per cent relies primarily on the innovative application of AI to solve existing industry problems; however, the leap from 80 to 99 per cent requires a significant investment of time to address issues inherent to AI itself, such as AI hallucinations, computational resource consumption and system latency. Ultimately, the most challenging problem to solve is the technical limitations of artificial intelligence itself, and this is precisely where the strongest AI teams must continuously conduct research and achieve breakthroughs. Currently, Shiyuan Technology has established operations in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Ru Binxin particularly emphasised the advantages of Shanghai. He believes that Shanghai possesses excellent healthcare and educational resources, as well as an international and diverse living environment, making it highly attractive to high-calibre talent, particularly those returning from overseas. At the same time, Shanghai and its surrounding areas boast a comprehensive supply chain and a large number of clients in the semiconductor industry, making it ideally suited for the development of advanced manufacturing. The company is located in Caohejing, Xuhui District, where the local government has not only offered an office space policy of ‘one year’s rent-free and half-price in the second year’, but has also proactively helped the business understand talent policies and financing opportunities. What made the deepest impression on Ru Binxin was that government officials had taken the initiative to visit the company to explain the relevant policies. As they were primarily focused on product development during the early stages of the business and were unfamiliar with such policies, this proactive service came as a great surprise to him. Today, the company’s products are in such high demand that they are actively expanding their production capacity. Faced with the various uncertainties and challenges of entrepreneurship, Ru Binxin remains calm. He believes that the most important thing is to be able to learn quickly and grow continuously throughout this process. As long as genuine progress is made, the time invested is well worth it. In addition, the company has a long-term goal: to become an artificial intelligence enterprise capable of sustaining itself through its own profits and achieving continuous, healthy development.