Crossing March Offline Salon Recap: What AI Startup Opportunities Exist in the Post-DeepSeek Era?
We recently pulled off "something big."
First, let me tell you about a big thing Crossing has been working on lately:
Together with the Silicon Valley community Aligns AI, and with the full support of the Caohejing Development Zone in Shanghai, we've launched an AI Hacker House.
AI Hacker House is a 300-square-meter standalone building on the water, surrounded by a large lake and a grove of trees.
It's an oasis of calm in the middle of everything, yet also encircled by over 500 AI companies in the Caohejing Development Zone — ByteDance, Tencent, SenseTime, miHoYo, Micron, ARM, and many others.
We brought in the talented design studio Ateliers90 to create a rich, free, and energizing interior space for AI Hacker House.
This space will host all kinds of AI industry gatherings, salons, and hackathons.
In the first two months alone, we've already co-hosted multiple AI events with communities including Demo Inn, Let's Vision, and SH Hacks.
Follow the AI Hacker House WeChat account — we're preparing a "formal debut," and we'll keep posting updates about upcoming events there.
Spark Lab is the resident team at AI Hacker House, handling day-to-day operations.
What's more, Spark Lab is cooking up something cool with us — an accelerator (tentative name). After visiting AGI House and HF0 in Silicon Valley, we're planning to create a major hub for AI innovation acceleration in China.
A little teaser:
If you want to know more about this accelerator, or are interested in becoming one of our first supporters, reach out to Koji or Ryan, founder of Spark Lab.
/// Crossing March Salon Recap ///
On March 22, Crossing's member salon — "At the Crossroads in the Post-DeepSeek Era: New AI Investment Opportunities in 2025" — was held successfully at AI Hacker House. The event peaked at nearly 100 attendees, with lively conversation running from 6 p.m. to past 11 p.m.
In Koji's opening talk, "My 10 Aha Moments in Q1," he shared his observations and reflections on the rapid developments in AI over the past three months.
In the first investor panel, Betty Wang, Partner at GL Ventures (Hillhouse's venture arm), argued that DeepSeek's release has given Chinese entrepreneurs stronger confidence, marking a shift from "seeing" to "believing." Yuan Liu, Partner at ZhenFund, added that DeepSeek pioneered new approaches to model architecture, bolstering the industry's confidence in China's AI development.
From left: Koji, Betty Wang (Partner, GL Ventures), and Yuan Liu (Partner, ZhenFund)
In the second founder panel, we were honored to have three guests: Yu Bo, Founder of Youmind; Ding Li, Founder of Miguo AI; and Yongzhi, a veteran entrepreneur and investor. The discussion centered on AI entrepreneurship, product development, and go-global strategy, with all three sharing their hands-on experience and unique perspectives.
From left: Koji; Yu Bo, Founder/CEO of Youmind; Ding Li, Founder/CEO of Miguo AI; Yang Yongzhi, Founder of Dolphin Browser
Then came Crossing's signature open mic segment, where six founder friends delivered standout presentations:
Yachen Song (Simon), Founder/CEO of VAST — "Real-World Applications of AI 3D"
Roi, CEO of Roadside Picnic — "The First Wave of AI-Native Game Creators Were Actually Female College Students?"
Joyce, Founder of CuriooWorks — "Innovative Education in the AI Era"
Vakee, Founder/CEO of RockFlow — "AI Agent in Finance"
Eric, CEO of Yuedong Guangnian — "How AI Entrepreneurs Can Avoid FOMO"
Levi Xiyuan, Founder/CEO of FateTell — "Product and Tech Lessons from the 'DeepSeek Fortune-Telling' Viral Moment"
🙌
Thanks to everyone who came out!
This event drew 300 registrations from AI industry professionals. Due to limited space, we could only accommodate a portion of those who signed up.
The good news: we're already planning the next one!
Also at Shanghai AI Hacker House, scheduled for the evening of Sunday, April 20.
Confirmed speakers so far:
- Wang Tianfan, Partner at BAI Capital
- Can Zhang, Managing Director at Linear Capital
- Tian Le, Founder/CEO of Aiyu AI (serial entrepreneur with three successful ventures, two acquisitions, and a firm belief that AI will change the world)
- (More speakers to be announced...)
The event is free — scan the QR code on the poster below to register in advance.
Since AI Hacker House can hold a maximum of 100 people, we'll prioritize AI entrepreneurs and founding team members, but we warmly welcome anyone who's itching to start their own venture.
In today's second post, we'll share highlights from the first panel discussion — featuring Koji, Betty Wang (Partner, GL Ventures), and Yuan Liu (Partner, ZhenFund).
