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Vol.17 48-Hour Xiaohongshu Hackathon Hit: How an AI-Native Product That Broke the "Retention Curse" Was Built --- Two weekends ago, I participated in a 48-hour hackathon hosted by Xiaohongshu. Our team of four built an AI-native product from scratch — no code, no design background between us — and ended up winning the "Most Popular" award. The product? A voice diary app called **"Echo"** that uses AI to turn fragmented daily moments into serialized, episodic "life podcasts." Think *This American Life*, but starring you. What surprised me wasn't that we won. It was that people kept using it *after* the demo. Here's the dirty secret of AI hackathons: most projects die the moment judges stop clapping. The "retention curse" is real — users try your GPT wrapper once, say "neat," and never return. We broke that pattern. Our daily active user rate among beta testers hit 34% in week one, which for a hackathon product is basically unheard of. How? Three deliberate choices we made against hackathon orthodoxy. **First, we refused to build a chatbot.** The default AI product in 2024 is still "talk to a large language model." We explicitly rejected this. Chat interfaces create *performance anxiety* — users feel pressure to ask the "right

Vol.16 Tsinghua Entrepreneur-Scientist Huazhe Xu: From Intelligent "Hatching" to Home Embodiment, Stubbornly Chasing Originality in the AI Wave

Vol.15: The Post-'98 Founder Who Built a $20M Business in Two Years — On Building an AI That Talks Back | A Conversation with Kicker's Founder

Linear Capital π Recruitment: Come to Digua Craft Brewery and Talk Robot Conviction | Linear Event

February 3 — see you in Suzhou.

Sp.01 | Debriefing China's Primary Market in 2025 (Ft. Crossroads)

"White Rhino" Closes New Funding Round, Total Annual Financing Exceeds $100 Million | Linear Portfolio

Business growth exceeded the same period last year by more than 20x.

Congratulations to JD Industrials on Its Successful Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing | Yunqi Capital

Technology-enabled, with a promising future ahead.

A Conversation with "Father of Supply Chain" Hau Lee: Future Competition Won't Be Between Companies, But Between Ecosystems | Waves World View

The New Questions Supply Chains Must Answer

Yunqi Capital Quarterly | Upward, the Consistent Answer

New Growth, New Gains

Yunqi Capital | Astribot Raises Hundreds of Millions in A++ Round to Accelerate Scale Deployment of Cable-Driven AI Robots

The Pioneer in Mass-Producing Cable-Driven AI Robots Continues to Evolve

Yunqi Capital | Lead Series A investor Neolix raises over $600 million in Series D, with Yunqi Capital continuing to increase its stake

Accompanying the World's Largest L4 RoboVan Supplier in Its Continuous Evolution

Inside JD.com: Accelerating Commerce, Empowering Technology, and Building Industry Partnerships to Speed Robots into Millions of Homes | Ronghui

"Help 100 robotics brands achieve one-billion-yuan sales within three years."

Is AI Healthcare Having Its DeepSeek Moment? | Frees VC Research

AI healthcare is becoming an open secret.

Astribot Lands China's First Thousand-Unit Commercial Order, Accelerating AI Robot Deployment in Industry | Yunqi Capital

Partnering with SEER Robotics to Launch a New Phase of AI Robot "Industrial Intelligent Agent" Applications

From Mortgaging His House to Building the World's Largest Autonomous Fleet: Yu Enyuan's Seven-Year All-In Bet | Yunqi Capital Doers

"Neolix" and Its "Ant Army"

Stablecoin Gold Rush: A Conversation with Asia's Biggest "Pick-and-Shovel" Play | Linear Voice

Use digital wallets as the technical foundation to drive compliant adoption of stablecoins.

Walking Through the Heat, Gathering Along the Way | Yunqi Capital Quarterly

Yunqi Capital Q2 Good News

Yunqi Capital Named to ChinaVenture's "Top 10 Best Early-Stage VC Firms in China" for Fifth Consecutive Year, Portfolio Companies Win Eight Honors | Yunqi Capital News

Moving forward together — thanks for the recognition.

Yunqi Capital Quarterly | Spring Winds Ask Nothing of the Traveler; We Chart Our Own Course

A Closer Look at Yunqi Capital's Recent Moves

ZhenFund's Yusen Dai: A Guide to Entrepreneurship, Investing, and AI for Young People

Abundant energy, an intense desire for success, and a fearless spirit of innovation.

Yunqi Capital Portfolio Company Zhaogang Group Successfully Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange | Yunqi Capital

On March 10, **Zhaogang Group**, a Yunqi Capital portfolio company and operator of China's largest steel e-commerce platform, officially began trading on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under **ticker symbol 06676**, marking Hong Kong's second-ever De-SPAC transaction.

Yunqi Capital | Neolix Completes $1 Billion C+ Round, Advancing RoboVan Scale-Up

will be the first to deploy a fleet of ten thousand driverless vehicles

Year-end good news: CDH Investments has raised 5 billion yuan for logistics investments.

Insurance capital is turning its attention to real estate investments.

After Raising Hundreds of Millions in Funding, Mei Tao on How This Generation of AI Entrepreneurs Should Build

When the wave comes, jump with it.

Yunqi Capital Bulletin | Founding Partner Chengyu Mao Repeats on "China's Top 30 Angel Investors" List

Deepen the present, capture the future.

10 Facts About 1,000 Chinese Billionaires

The currents of the era, all contained within the sequence.

Haiper's Yishu Miao: Video Generation Is Still at the "GPT-2" Stage | 5Y View

Before becoming the TikTok of the GenAI era, Haiper is trying to become Xiaohongshu first.

Exclusive | Actually, DST Bought Xiaohongshu Secondary Shares

Mega funds still making deals.

Change Begins with What You See | 5Y News Monthly

The big news from last month.

Ten Notable AI + Tech Industry Developments to Watch | "Cloud Brief · Business Bulletin Board, Nov–Dec 2023"

Tracking the latest AI developments, with a focus on key information at the intersection of technology and industrial innovation

Founding Partner Chenyu Mao Ranks No. 4 on "China's Top Angel Investors" List | Yunqi Capital Update

Focus on the long term, keep digging deep.

This time it's GGV. Who's next?

"This is in the best interest of investors, employees, and founders."

After a long absence, Sister Xu returns with 26 maxims

"You don't need a high IQ to succeed."

AGI in Practice: Summer Results, Diverse Ecosystems, and Frontier Insights | Yunqi Capital Quarterly · Summer

Large language models have been integrated across thousands of industries, and a new ecosystem is flourishing.

"Cloud News · Business Chalkboard" — First Issue Now Live! Ten Tech Industry Developments Worth Watching

Ignite curiosity and seek answers this summer.

Yunqi Capital Invited to Become a Founding Council Member of the Global Tech Industry Alliance | Yunqi News

Helping Unite Global Tech Forces

AGI in Practice, Innovation Breakthroughs, and Frontier Insights This Spring | Yunqi Capital Quarterly · Spring Issue

New thinking and new practice in AI from Yunqi Capital and its portfolio companies.

JD.com Industrial Completes $300 Million Series B to Drive Intelligent Transformation of Industrial Supply Chain | Yunqi Capital

Using Digital Intelligence to Drive Supply-Side Smart Supply Chain and Manufacturing Upgrades

5Y News | 5Y Capital Portfolio Company "Nowcoder" Closes $50 Million Series B Funding

Powering the full lifecycle of campus recruiting — from sourcing to onboarding.

Future Tech Entrepreneurship Vision | 5Y 3Sigma Roundtable Annual Review

Scan the QR code at the end of the article to fill out the form, and join fellow founders in exploring what's ahead!

How Far Are General-Purpose Robots From Human Society? | 5Y 3Sigma Roundtable

A new 5Y 3Sigma roundtable is now open for registration — sign up if you're interested.

Linear News | Zero-Trust Access Management Cloud Platform "Feiyue Cloud" Closes Seed Round in the Millions of RMB, Led by Linear Capital

36Kr has learned that Shanghai Feiyue Cloud Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Feiyue Cloud") announced today that it has completed a seed funding round. According to the company, this round raised tens of millions of RMB, led by Linear Capital, with AngelPlus following on.

Linear Capital Leads Angel Round in Metaverse Infrastructure Startup Qiyihuo Technology Elsewhere.News | Qiyihuo Technology, a metaverse infrastructure provider, has announced a multimillion-yuan angel funding round led by Linear Capital.

36Kr has learned that Qiyihuo Technology announced it has raised tens of millions of yuan in an angel round led by Linear Capital, with listed company L&A Design participating as a co-investor. Following this round, the company will focus on developing its underlying technology, expanding market operations, and building out its ecosystem — marking its second successful fundraising after an earlier seed round of several million yuan.

3 Billion New Fund First Close: Arthur Yeung on Kairous Capital's Two Major Organizational Restructurings

A New Solution to the Organizational Challenge of Funds.

How to Understand the Divergence Between Chinese and American Development Models, and Find China-Based Startup Opportunities? | Li Feng Column

Why "Spring" Remains Elusive for SaaS, and the Root of US-China Startup Differences

Guoxin Technology Secures New Round of Strategic Investment to Lead Innovation in IoT AI Chips

Covering the full-scenario application of "human-vehicle-home," shaping a better life with "chips."

5Y News | Buddy Leads the No-Code Digital Transformation Market with $17 Million Series B Round

A no-code app builder and data collaboration platform.

5Y News | Warehouse Robotics Firm Hai Robotics Closes 100-Million-Yuan Series B+ Round Led by 5Y Capital

Pioneer in tote-based warehouse robotics systems.

Is the Internet Destined to Have a Next New Platform? | FreeS Research

Will the new decade that began in 2021 be a better one for entrepreneurship?

5Y News | Men's Grooming Brand "理然" Closes Nearly RMB 150 Million Series B Round

The next generation of male consumers is continuously evolving in their grooming and personal-image needs.

Chen Yaochang: World Factory + Social Media + Talent — More and More Global Brands Will Emerge from China | Ronghui

Over the next five years, we're bound to see more and more international consumer brands emerging from China.

Hangzhou Nationalchip Technology Completes Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Series C Funding

Focused on chip design and system solutions for digital television and AIoT (AI + IoT).

After 618: What's Next for Consumer Brands | FreeS Fund Business School

After 967.4 billion in cumulative GMV, who is swimming against the current?

Can the Logistics Industry Produce an Uber or DiDi? | Frees Fund — Learning to Invest Through Investing

Following heavy trucks on their nocturnal runs for four years, this company has figured out what smart logistics actually looks like.

The New Landscape for Fresh Produce, Catering, and Food After the Pandemic | Frees Fund

Will the restaurant industry ever produce a "Xiaomi"?

Great Crises Breed Great Opportunities? Lessons from SARS and the Financial Crisis | Gaorong Ventures Share

Spring always comes, and the view next spring will surely be different from years past.

Li Feng Column 14: Why Should We Thank Chinese Manufacturing?

Does Xiaomi or Three Squirrels Need to Build Their Own Factories?

Gaorong Ventures received honors including 36Kr's "Top 10 Most LP-Friendly VC Firms in China" and ChinaVenture's "Top 10 Best VC Firms in China 2018."

Thank you to all parties across the industry for your continued trust and support.

MemVerge Closes $24.5 Million Series A, Unveils World's First Memory-Converged System

A new data infrastructure that eliminates the boundary between memory and storage.

Gaorong Ventures' Xiang Gao: Finding Irreversible Trends to Withstand Market Volatility

The Logic Behind the "Irreversible" Trend

Gaorong Ventures' Chang Chen: Consumer Markets in Third-, Fourth-, and Fifth-Tier Cities Are Full of Opportunity

Third- and fourth-tier cities account for over 63% of total social retail consumption, far surpassing the combined share of first- and second-tier cities.

A Conversation with the "Three Musketeers" of Gaorong Ventures: Embracing Technology to Create a Better Life

From 0 to 1, and on to 1 to 10

Yue Bin, founding partner of Gaorong Ventures, won the "Top 10 Most Influential VC Investors of 2018" award.

Gaorong Ventures was named to the "2018 Top 10 Most Influential VC Firms." At the same time, Rui Han, Aisi Zuo, and Wang Xin, vice presidents at Gaorong Ventures, were jointly selected as "Most Popular Elite Investors of the Year."

The Gaorong Ventures Way: Know What to Do, Know What Not to Do

A matter of resolve.

Gaorong Ventures was named among the top three best venture capital funds at the 2018 Golden Bridge Awards and ranked in the top ten Chinese VC firms in Zero2IPO's 2018 rankings.

Create long-term value for society

Aqara Completes B+ Strategic Funding Round, Making Smart Home Technology a Mass-Market Consumer Product

A more complete smart home experience.

Gaorong Ventures Closes $500 Million New Fund, Positioning Itself as a Long-Term Partner in Building Startup Value

Institutional LPs provide the capital foundation; entrepreneur LPs drive ecosystem value-add.

Chang Chen of Gaorong Ventures Honored as "Cyzone 2018 China Investor of the Year"

Be a value co-builder for startups.

Gaorong Ventures was named among the "Top 10 VC Firms of 2018 (Growth Stage)" by the China Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, among other honors.

Measuring the Value of Watchfulness by the Yardstick of Time

Testin Cloud Testing: A Typical Industrial Internet Startup Case Study | Gaorong Ventures Sharing

Make Apps More Valuable

Club Factory Raises $100 Million in Series C, FreeS Fund Continues to Follow On | Funding News

Cross-border e-commerce — a market that rivals daigou in scale.

Zhidong Zhang: How Tencent Grew Into a Major Company From 1998 to 2017 | FreeS Fund Business School

Two hopes in the early days of starting up: don't let the company die, and don't let users get disconnected.

Li Feng x Lixing Wang: After 900 Million Consumers Became "Shopaholics," How Can Chinese Brands Conquer the Global Market? | FreeS Talk

A motivational pep talk for consumer upgrade entrepreneurs — good for the next 20 years, guaranteed.