The AI Products You Don't Know About Are Quietly Making a Killing Overseas | Podcast

十字路口Crossing十字路口Crossing··0·0

Go for it~~

AI plus going global was the hottest entrepreneurial choice of 2024. A wave of Chinese entrepreneurs rode the AI trend to launch their own Age of Exploration. We've noticed that quite a few AI companies going overseas have already earned their first bucket of gold.

In this podcast episode, we try to extract and summarize what these profitable companies have in common, hoping to broaden your thinking and spark some inspiration.

When we mention the "big money" in "quietly making a fortune," we don't necessarily mean massive wealth. Nor do we intend to reveal their specific revenue figures on the show, because we believe making money itself is an extremely positive signal. It means the product has found product-market fit (PMF), has found target users willing to pay, and it means the flywheel has started spinning.

What we're mainly discussing today are AI companies founded by Chinese entrepreneurs — some headquartered in China, others in Silicon Valley, Singapore, and elsewhere. Regardless of where they are, they share the same social circles and cultural framework as us, which offers the most direct inspiration and reference points.

This is a crossover episode between the podcasts "OnBoard!" and "Crossing."

Guest Introduction

Why did I think to invite Gao Ning for this episode? In my eyes, Gao Ning is a living encyclopedia of the AI industry — a walking vertical-domain large language model. His information density is enormous; there's hardly any industry news or gossip he doesn't know.

Gao Ning is the host of the podcast OnBoard![1], and it was he and Monica who inspired Ronghui and me to start producing the "Crossing" podcast. Gao Ning is also the co-founder of the overseas expansion community Linkloud (WeChat official account: Linkloud). Before becoming an entrepreneur, Gao Ning worked at Hillhouse.

Linkloud is currently one of the most influential communities for Chinese AI companies going global. Every quarter, Gao Ning leads dozens of AI founders and executives on study trips to Silicon Valley and Japan. He has long observed Chinese AI's overseas expansion and serves as an important bridge for AI exchange between the technology and business communities of China and the United States.

Listen directly on WeChat:

Listen on Xiaoyuzhou:

🎬 Episode Timeline

01:53 Why should Chinese AI teams go global?

Companies/products mentioned in the podcast:

  • 05:30 PictureThis
  • 07:36 Answer.ai
  • 10:00 Study X
  • 11:27 Speak
  • 13:57 Children's educational AI hardware products
  • 15:09 UMU
  • 17:18 ChatOn
  • 18:30 CrushOn
  • 19:12 Chai
  • 19:53 Talkie
  • 22:28 HeyGen
  • 23:28 Opus Clip
  • 24:17 Creatify
  • 24:38 ACE Studio
  • 28:50 Fotor
  • 29:50 Cutout.Pro
  • 30:57 Monica.im
  • 33:13 Notta
  • 35:07 Final Round
  • 36:40 Retell
  • 38:00 Devin
  • 39:09 Octopus

Reasons why Chinese AI teams are so dominant:

  • 39:53 ① Accumulated experience from the mobile internet era
  • 40:35 ② Advanced understanding of short video plus marketing
  • 41:25 ③ Engineer dividend
  • 42:33 ④ The rise of indie developers

44:02 Gao Ning introduces his overseas expansion community LinkLoud

45:26 Why Japan is also worth paying attention to?

50:32 How can AI practitioners in China and the United States learn from each other?

Subscribe to the "Crossing" podcast on Xiaoyuzhou[2]

🚦 Welcome to subscribe to "Crossing," where we follow the new industry shifts and entrepreneurial opportunities brought by the new wave of AI technology. Crossing is a metaphor Steve Jobs used for Apple — standing at the intersection of technology and liberal arts, where great products are born. AI is transforming industries across the board. We seek out, interview, and bring together "active actors" of the AI era, exploring and embracing new changes and new possibilities alongside them.

👦🏻 Host Koji: Co-founder of The Fair and Tangdao, also someone actively diving into AI. Koji's Jike[3], A self-introduction by Koji[4]

👧🏻 Host Ronghui: Works at a tech VC, former Silicon Valley correspondent for CBNweekly. Ronghui's Jike[5]

Welcome to join the Crossing membership group

☀️ Daily AI News Brief

👫🏻 Encouraging everyone to date/make friends/find future collaborators

🦀 Add our assistant on WeChat to join: Rwkfbcianvd

🎄 This podcast is supported by the Sound Forest Podcast Plan.

"Crossing" seeks to find, interview, and bring together active actors of the AI era. Welcome to follow the "Crossing" official account and podcast, and join us in taking action.

References

[1] OnBoard!: https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/podcast/61cbaac48bb4cd867fcabe22

[2] Subscribe to the "Crossing" podcast on Xiaoyuzhou: https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/podcast/60502e253c92d4f62c2a9577

[3] Koji's Jike: https://okjk.co/0JSUes

[4] A self-introduction by Koji: https://www.notion.so/About-Koji-415843ab8db74235b98f8b1f67da1930?pvs=21

[5] Ronghui's Jike: https://okjk.co/0cbnYV