## Editor’s Recommendation
*Image Source: Ling Universe*
We are honored this issue to feature **Gu Jiawei**, founder of **Ling Universe** — a pioneer whose career charts the evolving relationship between humans and machines.
From “rising tech star” at Microsoft and Baidu, exploring human–machine interaction from within the *ivory tower*, to founding WuLing Technology and testing ideas on the commercial battlefield — each of his career steps aligns precisely with key turning points in human–machine integration.
Recently, Ling Universe raised **200M RMB** in a Pre-A round, with investors like **DiDi** and **Guofang Innovation**. This underscores the surging AI hardware wave and Gu’s position at its forefront. In this interview, he shares why **true disruption means gentle infiltration**, not abrupt replacement, and how he defines “AI-native” products — requiring both the **“extraction test”** and **relationship algorithms** that go beyond recommendation.
You’ll learn:
- Why walking the “narrow path” matters in saturated markets.
- How to find incremental opportunities.
- His vision of AI as a partner with *spirit*, and the concept of **World as Interface**.
This isn’t only a blueprint for AI hardware methodology — it’s a candid dialogue about foresight, timing, and courage. If you want to understand how to **break one giant leap into three smaller steps** to reach the future sustainably, this interview offers the answers.
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### Key Takeaways
- **Scientists vs. Entrepreneurs:** Scientists explore safely within the ivory tower; entrepreneurs face reality directly, balancing ideals with challenges.
- **Timing Matters:** The best moment for technology may not equal the best moment for commercialization.
- **True AI-Native:** Must pass the *extraction test* and feature *relationship algorithms* that create unique human–AI bonds.
- **Data as the Ultimate Moat:** Deploy real-world devices to gather physical space data for embodied intelligence.
- **Gentle Infiltration:** Disruption comes from micro innovations that users can perceive — not sudden replacement.
- **Product Evolution:** From portable devices to imperceptible wearables.
- **Walk the Narrow Path:** Solve vertical niche problems to gain depth and scale later.
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## Part One: Personal Journey — Vision and Tempering
**ZP:** Your career has spanned Microsoft, Baidu, WuLing, and now Ling Universe — can you walk us through the journey?
**Gu Jiawei:**
It’s all been about *next-generation human–machine interaction*.
- **Microsoft & Baidu Research:** Pure tech exploration, no KPIs, prioritizing limits of tech and user experience (Kinect, Surface, Hololens, BaiduEye, DuLight). Learned to match tech maturity, data availability, and user adoption.
- **WuLing Technology:** Built *Luka* reading robot — reached 10M+ households in 18 countries. Survived a shareholder crisis by restructuring via MBO, transforming me into a leader balancing ideals and operational reality.
- **Ling Universe:** Continuing my mission: Make AI a spiritual companion — a partner with memory, warmth, and proactive interaction.
Throughout, I’ve avoided chasing “cool tech” for its own sake and stayed rooted in genuine user needs.
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### Scientist vs Entrepreneur — Core Differences
1. **Objective:**
- Scientist: Push technological limits — value lies in expanding cognition.
- Entrepreneur: Deliver real user value and viable revenue.
*Example:* BaiduEye was visionary but premature; Luka solved a clear pain point.
2. **Responsibilities:**
- Scientist: Lead tech teams, prototype.
- Entrepreneur: Manage tech, strategy, team, finances, crises.
3. **Value Measurement:**
- In research: Impact through tech itself.
- In business: Impact through real-world adoption and benefit.
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### Judging Tech–Market Timing
**Telescope + Microscope Approach:**
- Telescope: See 10–20 years ahead.
- Microscope: Navigate each immediate step with precision.
**Bill Buxton’s lesson:** *Look back into the future* — real opportunities emerge when tech is in the “trough of disillusionment.”
**My 3 Criteria for Judging Trends:**
1. **Addresses a fundamental human need?**
2. **Creates a new interaction paradigm?**
3. **Improves with usage — network effects?**
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### Timing Methodology
- **Feel the Tech Cycle:** Recognize fundamental shifts in environment/framework.
- **Endurance:** Survive until market timing aligns.
- **Stepwise Innovation:** Break big transformations (like replacing smartphones) into small, perceivable steps.
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## Part Two: Industry & Product — The Future of AI Hardware
**LingOS Vision:** Operating system as a platform for *people, scenes, and memories* — replacing apps with human-like AI roles.
**Xiao Fangji:**
- First product running LingOS.
- “AI New Computer” for Generation Alpha (post-2010).
- Positioned away from smartphones, serving unmet terminal needs.
*Image Source: Ling Universe*
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### Defining AI-Native
Criteria:
1. **Subtraction Test:** Remove AI; product loses core value.
2. **Growth System & Relationship Algorithms:** Learns about user over time, proactively delivering considerate interactions based on shared experiences.
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## Part Three: Barriers & Moats
**Avoiding Homogeneity:**
- Others: Toys with basic voice interaction.
- Us: AI terminal + OS, hardware–software synergy.
**Core Advantages:**
1. **Prior User Data:** 10M+ family interactions from Luka.
2. **Multimodal Picture Book Data:** Rich, structured, voice–image–text assets.
3. **First-Person Space Data:** Fuel for embodied intelligence models.
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### The Meaning of “Ling” (Spirit)
- **Inward:** Digital immortality prompts reflection on human uniqueness.
- **Outward:** Universe as AI’s frontier of exploration.
From Wuling’s *Luka* to Ling Universe’s *Xiao Fangji*, the original mission — imbuing AI with *spirit* — remains.
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## Part Four: Rapid Q&A
**Q:** Core human capabilities for the AI era?
**A:** Independent judgment, strong curiosity, ability to collaborate with AI.
**Q:** Advice for AI hardware entrepreneurs?
**A:** Take the narrow path — excel in a niche, leverage China’s supply chain.
**Q:** Influential book/movie?
**A:** *Her* (2013) — inspired exploration of human–AI symbiosis.
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### Related Ecosystem Spotlight: AiToEarn
[**AiToEarn官网**](https://aitoearn.ai/) — open-source global AI content monetization platform.
- **Create:** AI-generated content.
- **Publish:** Across Douyin, Bilibili, WeChat, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
- **Analyze:** Track via [AI模型排名](https://rank.aitoearn.ai).
- **Monetize:** Optimize reach and revenue.
Both LingOS and AiToEarn exemplify how AI transforms interaction — from hardware companionship to content ecosystems.
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