The First "AI Creation 101" Forms Its Group This Saturday

@Wu Ruirui

A lot of friends have been asking: "elsewhere," why does the AI industry deserve its own Produce 101?

Today marks the first day after our online public vote closed, and we have a clearer answer: this is a social experiment.

Produce 101 became a milestone in Chinese entertainment history for one reason, summed up in two words: public selection. Not judges choosing, not streaming platforms choosing, not talent agencies choosing — the audience chose. So the question "what's your favorite AI product?" shouldn't be answered by investors, product leads, or company heads either.

The stage belongs to the audience. AI products belong to users.

Over the past month, 1,213 users made 4,431 real choices. Here's what they told us:

🅰️ Introducing the 11 Class A Trainees

From 101 AI products nominated during our open call, we combined votes from our main site and a mirror polling platform on Zhihu to pick the final 11. We'll keep you in suspense — come to the event and find out who they are in person.

Some clues:

• Among the 11 founders, the oldest is over 40, the youngest is 24, and most of the rest just turned 30.

• Most started their first company after the AI era began; only three are serial entrepreneurs. But interestingly, the one with the most startups under their belt is the 24-year-old.

• Five out of 11 are hardware products, and one hasn't even revealed the physical device yet. Software products skew toward creative and learning tools. Only one is a "free the wage slaves" productivity tool — somehow?

• Three have never taken any investment. Originally it was four, but on the last day before Lunar New Year break, one of them received a wire from a top-tier VC — less than two months after launching their product.

🥊 The Finals? A Stunt Competition!

This Saturday, AI Produce 101 reaches its grand finale.

11 company founders, ready to put on a show

Each contestant gets 7 minutes, judged by one criterion only: don't be boring. Put on something good enough to win over 100 genuine Gen Zers in the room. From what we've heard, planned stunts include: manzai comedy, AI live matchmaking, 320-meter-high cycling, a tribute to the "Gomoku Song" skill, a screen-based face-finding contest... [You people really are something 😅

Where do the 100 Gen Zers come from? It's not too late to sign up

Only 100 Gen Z audience members get voting rights. Fifty have already been randomly drawn from those who participated in the vote. The other 50 spots, we want to reserve for Gen Zers who didn't get to vote but still want to hold a voting device. If that's you, scan the QR code to register now ⬇️**

Not Gen Z? You can still come

We hereby solemnly declare: we do not have VC pedophilia! Beyond Gen Z audience members, many non-Gen Z AI founders, investors, and practitioners will be at the event. Even without voting rights, you can jump into this big party. All product leads from the "AI Product 101" shortlist automatically get one admission ticket. We're also setting up an AI product bazaar — bring your product and set up a stall. (Please fill out the registration form and we'll contact you.)

Bonus round: Lobster feast 🦞

Multiple lobster-themed startup teams will make a surprise appearance, bringing their 🦞 and lobster-raising wisdom. After the event, there's a closed-door afterparty where friends can chat lobster and eat lobster.

What else is happening? Some spoilers

An impossibly beautiful cyber crown | A murmuring android | Sheep — not electronic, actual sheep | Humanoid robots dancing again? | Plenty of booze, the extra-foamy kind...

March 7 (this Saturday), 2:00 PM

Shanghai · Zhangjiang Science City Gate (West Tower), top floor

Register, see you there ⬇️

Cover image: Illustrated