Celebrity Entrepreneur + Top-tier VC: Can This AI Podcast Bet Succeed?

Cover image generated by AI

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Background: Previous AI Podcast Attempts

Recently, several high-profile entrepreneurs have entered the AI podcast space:

• Zhang Yueguang launched ChatPods
• Jiao Ke launched Laifu

ChatPods and Laifu download data over the past 90 days (iOS + Android) ｜ Source: Diandian Data

Results so far:

• ChatPods: 35,000 downloads globally (Sept), <$100 monthly revenue, limited active user data
• Laifu: ~2,000 downloads (Sept), no visible MAU or revenue

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New Entrant: Ethan KJ Li’s Aibrary

Ethan KJ Li’s career history ｜ Source: LinkedIn

Ethan KJ Li — former CEO of ByteDance Smart Education — is approaching AI podcasts differently.

His product Aibrary:

• Soft launch: April 23 (U.S. App Store)
• Official release: Sept 23
• Core feature: Transform books into personalized podcasts + interactive learning paths
• Funding: Backed by Sequoia China, Chuxin Capital, Factorial Fund

Compared to earlier entertainment-focused AI podcast experiments (ChatPods, Laifu), Aibrary targets knowledge acquisition — similar to NotebookLM. The key is whether it can differentiate enough to compete.

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I. Product Design: The Most Refined AI Podcast Experience Yet

Target & Differentiators

Aibrary focuses on personal learning and skill growth. Compared to NotebookLM and Speechify, it offers:

• A complete recommendation + content system
• Podcasts as the primary teaching format

Homepage recommendations & “Nova” chatbot tab

User Onboarding

• 6-step signup: age, gender, interests, favorite celebrities, learning goals
• Personalized homepage recommendations via a tailored algorithm
• Search function for books by title/topic

Main Tabs:

• Homepage: Recommendation + search
• Nova: Chatbot interaction
• Profile: User account info

Chatbot Personas:

• Nova — main user interaction
• Orion — knowledge management (book queries, graphs)
• Atlas — goal breakdown & progress review

> Reality: Most dialogue handled by Nova, with limited Orion/Atlas input.

Orion and Atlas join in on complex queries.

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Three Core Content Types

• Book Lists — curated recommendations
• Book Details — description, two audio segments (Summary & Podcast), purchase link
• Idea Twin Podcast — personalized, user-specific deep dive

Book list examples (Figures 1, 2) and book details (Figure 3)

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Audio Segments

• Summary: Monologue, ~8–10 min
• Podcast: Dialogue, ~8–10 min
• Copyright: Legal gray area — low risk (no original art, only derived summaries)
• Call to action: Buy on Amazon or generate Idea Twin Podcast

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Idea Twin Podcast: Aibrary’s Unique Selling Point

The Idea Twin Podcast creates a two-person AI conversation between:

• AI Host
• User’s Digital Twin (cloned voice + profile)

Process:

• Select a book
• Choose AI host voice
• Fill in profile info (education, profession, MBTI, etc.)
• Clone voice

Cost: 100 Credits (non-subscribers: one podcast max)

Format:

• Host asks, twin answers
• Answers reflect input profile
• Immersion: Enhanced by voice cloning, but still feels “two AIs talking”

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Positioning in the AI Podcast Market

Aibrary — Function & Content Mapping ｜ Produced by 白鲸出海

Market quadrant positioning of AI + audio podcast products

Differentiation:

• Doubao: Struggles with condensing books
• Speechify: Full narration only
• Aibrary: Short-to-long guided learning flow via podcasts

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II. The Founders’ Pivot: From K12 to Lifelong Learning

Core Team:

• Li Kejia — ex-ByteDance Smart Education CEO
• Wu Jundong — ex-TAL Education strategic director
• Zhang Ximing — ex-ByteDance educational middleware lead

All have deep K12 backgrounds, now focused on adult lifelong learning — citing AI-era educational shifts:

• Answers are less important; critical thinking matters more
• Need to move from information delivery to cognitive restructuring
• Feedback loops are key to sustained learning

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Aibrary’s Iteration Phases

• Build personalized recommendation
• Generate content to provoke thinking
• Construct customized learning workflows

Current status:

• Step 1 and 2 partly achieved
• Step 3 (feedback systems) still in development

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Final Thoughts & Monetization Outlook

Pricing:

• $6.99/week or $89.99/year (7-day free trial)
• Cheaper than Audible ($159.99/year)
• Subscription required for most books
• Idea Twin Podcast consumes credits

Challenges:

• Need stronger feedback mechanisms
• Must prove immersive value of twin conversation
• Retention & willingness to pay still untested

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Potential Synergy

Platforms like AiToEarn官网 may complement Aibrary’s model by enabling:

• AI-powered content generation
• Cross-platform publishing (Douyin, Kwai, Bilibili, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X)
• Analytics + AI model ranking (AI模型排名)

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References

• 100 Days in Silicon Valley — Reflections Before Aibrary Goes Live
• Ouraca: We Want to Redefine Lifelong Learning With AI

> Data from SimilarWeb, Diandian Data, Semrush, Guangdada, and other third parties; actual values may vary.

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