Z Potentials | Interview with Hu Yuanming: Tsinghua Yao Class × MIT PhD, Building Meshy — a 3D AI Platform with 5M+ Users and 18x Annual Revenue Growth
Meshy — Generate 3D Models from Text or Images
Highlights:
- 5M+ total users
- 2.5–3M monthly visits
- Double-digit monthly revenue growth
- 18× annual revenue increase in the past year
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Generative AI is transforming the 3D content production workflow — from the old “DCC tools + outsourcing” model toward an exponential supply chain of “asset mass generation + pipeline readiness.”
Technology evolution (past 5 years):
- Real-time volumetric rendering
- NeRF
- Score Distillation
- 3D diffusion
New demand verticals:
- Games & film
- 3D printing
- E-commerce prototypes
- Digital humans
- Education & training
- AR/VR
Key shift: The speed × cost curve has dropped from “2 weeks/$1000” to “minutes/$1”, lowering barriers and enabling new niches.
✅ The winners in the next 3–5 years will be those who combine:
- Scalable asset production
- Standardized pipeline integration
- High-frequency iteration operations
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Founder Profile
Hu Yuanming:
- Education: Tsinghua Yao Class undergrad, MIT PhD
- Expertise: Graphics × Physical Simulation × System Engineering × Product Empathy
- Creator of Taichi programming language
Pivot Story:
- Shifted from “tool-based monetization” to asset generation services
- Transitioned from tech-driven to user-value-driven
- Strong grasp of product cadence and competitive market dynamics
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Product Positioning & Capabilities
Core focus: Generate 3D models from text or images
Meshy 6 improvements:
- Spatial resolution doubled on all three axes → ~8× detail boost
- Market-leading character and fine-object generation
- 20–30s model generation time; ~1min texturing
- Supports Text-to-3D, Image-to-3D, retopology, animation, and API workflows
Growth Metrics:
- 5M+ users
- 2.5–3M monthly site visits
- 18× revenue increase YoY
Strategic Moat:
- First-mover advantage and focus
- Efficient organizational execution
- Active and loyal user ecosystem
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Key Insights from the Founder
- From curiosity about “how the world works” to the ability to “create the world.”
- Always charge along the growth curve — avoid declining markets.
- Tools are harder to monetize than assets; pivot accordingly.
- Empathy predicts user friction before they voice it.
- Speed gets you in; quality keeps you in.
- Master geometry, UV, materials, and controllability.
- A good story = vision × first principles, validated by delivery.
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01 From Academia to Entrepreneurship
Academic Roots:
- Childhood interest in games led to early programming
- NOI gold medalist → Tsinghua University Yao Class
- MIT PhD in graphics, physics simulation, and computing systems
Early Influences:
- Inspired by entrepreneurs and tech founders via video interviews
- Pandemic period fueled desire to build usable products
Lessons from Taichi Project:
- Acted as product manager, researcher, engineer, marketer
- Enhanced empathy for user experience
Entrepreneurial Pivot:
- Avoided shrinking markets
- User feedback revealed greater value in assets over tools
- Adopted user-needs-first development principle
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02 Meshy Paradigm — From Minutes to Industrial Scale
Positioning:
> “Turn text and images into 3D models.”
Impact:
- 2 weeks → 2 minutes
- $1000 → $1
Current Challenges:
- Quality gap vs. manual models
- Geometry accuracy
- UV/topology/material detail
- Limited controllability
Meshy 6 Launch Highlights:
- 8× finer detail
- Strong improvement in structural correctness
- Fast generation & texturing
- Popular for 3D printing applications
Function Suite:
- Text-to-3D
- Image-to-3D
- Texture generation
- Animation
- API integration
- Advanced video/texture APIs for pros
User Base:
- 5M+ users
- 18× YoY revenue
- High satisfaction scores
Real Stories:
- AAA studio: Cut tank asset creation from 4 hours to 4 minutes
- Disabled artist: Regained ability to model via Meshy’s ease of use
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03 Moving Forward
Technical Roadmap:
- Higher quality generation
- Full 3D scene creation
- Pipeline adaptation (topology, UVs, materials)
- Advanced controllability
Global Strategy:
- UI designed for easy localization
- Focus on paying markets — Europe & North America
- Opportunities even in small-population countries with strong creative industries
Competitive Outlook:
- Collaboration with open-source
- Startups excel in focus, speed, and user relationships
- Meshy’s moat: Focus + Team Execution + User Loyalty
Leadership Evolution:
- CEO role = Ensure team wins as a whole
- Shifted from coding to organizational strategy
- Honesty and alignment between vision and delivery
Founder Advice:
- Face reality — verify actual user need and retention
- Stay brave — accept failure and iterate quickly
Inspirations:
- OpenAI (first-principles + persistence)
- Epic Games (Unreal Engine + Fortnite)
- Lovable & Cursor (user-focused AI applications)
- Elon Musk (vision + execution)
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Closing Note
For creators building in AI-generated 3D and beyond, ecosystem tools matter. Platforms like AiToEarn官网 integrate:
- AI content generation
- Cross-platform distribution
- Monetization & analytics
- AI model rankings (AI模型排名)
They allow publishing across Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Rednote, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X (Twitter).
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🚀 We’re recruiting new interns
🚀 Seeking creative post‑2000s entrepreneurs
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About Z Potentials
Creating opportunities for entrepreneurs in AI, global markets, and robotics. Platforms like AiToEarn官网 help bridge creativity with monetization across major channels.
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