Innovative Definitions: The Global Disruptors – DeepSeek, Unitree, DJI, and ByteDance

The South China Morning Post has reported on a special feature about the founders of new generation tech companies in China. These 4 companies have all grown and established their operational foundations differently from the era of BAT, which used to refer to the big 3 tech companies in China – Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent.

During the BAT era, founders like Jack Ma (Alibaba), Robin Li (Baidu), and Pony Ma (Tencent) grew in a time when China was opening up to the world, reforming its economy, and pushing for the emergence of new entrepreneurs in the country. The 4 companies and founders highlighted in this report all emerged between the 1980s and 1990s, a time when China was opening up, education was becoming more accessible, and western business culture was gaining influence.

The 4 companies and founders, including DeepSeek (Liang Wenfeng), Unitree Robotics (Wang Xingxing), ByteDance (Zhang Yiming), and DJI (Wang Tao), initially focused on the Chinese market but faced stiff competition as even foreign companies entered the fray. With support from global investors, these companies have made significant strides in the global market beyond just China.

Of note is that all 4 founders had no formal education backgrounds in the West. Wang from DJI graduated from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Zhang from ByteDance from Nankai University, Liang from DeepSeek from Zhejiang University, and Wang from Unitree from Shanghai University.

Another distinguishing factor among the 4 founders is their aversion to media exposure. Zhang of ByteDance continues to focus on AI research and recruiting top talent globally, while Liang of DeepSeek prioritizes research and development of new technology, only recently starting to engage with the media following market turbulence after DeepSeek’s impact on the US stock market.

Guo Bai, a professor from the China Europe International Business School, suggests that these 4 new-generation tech business founders in China can be likened to the “Fantastic Four,” developing technology that can compete globally.

TLDR: The South China Morning Post highlighted the success and unique traits of 4 new-generation tech companies in China, their founders, and their global impact in the tech market.