Yilin Zhao
赵一霖
Yilin Zhao is a Gen Z founder and Columbia University student who took a leave of absence in 2025 to build Hyperknow, a general-purpose learning agent . He co-founded the company with Jiang Ruohan after the two met as freshmen at Columbia and found themselves frustrated by the superficial answers ChatGPT provided when they were trying to learn quantum physics concepts from scratch . Their product philosophy centers on what they describe as an "Agent-like proactivity" — a drive to deconstruct knowledge layer by layer rather than accept quick, shallow explanations . Zhao appears in ZhenFund content as one of a cohort of young founders the firm is tracking, and has participated in their founder dialogues, including a conversation with Duolingo on building consumer education products in the AI era .
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Coverage
Taking a Leave from Columbia to Build a Startup: Don't Ask ChatGPT, Ask Hyperknow 3.0
We want to serve everyone who stays curious about knowledge.
真格基金·Dropped Out of Columbia to Build the First General-Purpose Learning Agent
真格基金·Gen Z Is Building the World
There's always someone young.
真格基金·Duolingo Talks to Early-Stage Founders: How to Build a Fun Product in the AI Era?
Because it's weird, because it's fun, because it's one of a kind.
真格基金·
