From August 25 to 30, the 15th Annual Conference of the Overseas Chinese Media Cooperation Organization (OCMCO) was successfully held in Hunan Province, China. Leaders from 84 overseas Chinese media outlets from 34 countries and regions arrived on the afternoon of Aug. 27 at the Changsha Intelligent Valley industrial park in Hunan Xiangjiang New Area.
Gu Shanzhi, a 29-year-old entrepreneur and founder of Hunan Huishiwei Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., maintained his "internet celebrity" persona in front of the overseas media, responding to challenging questions with clarity and confidence, winning over the journalists on the spot. Gu stated that he returned to Changsha to start his business due to the region's abundant entrepreneurial support policies and the advantage of high-end talent. Speaking about his company's future vision, the young entrepreneur expressed great confidence, saying, "Our goal is to become a 'unicorn' in the domestic AI vision sector. Just as Hangzhou has its 'Six Little Dragons,' Changsha can have its own 'AI Six Little Dragons.'"
Gu, originally from Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, studied computer science at the National University of Defense Technology for both his master's and doctorate, considering Hunan his "second hometown." In 2019, while pursuing his master's degree, he was assigned to the Shenzhen Pengcheng National Laboratory, becoming one of the first engineers in China to use thousands of computing cards for large model training, a skill possessed by fewer than 50 people nationwide at that time. At the Pengcheng Laboratory, he also joined the Pengcheng α large model development team, becoming one of the earliest researchers to train using domestically produced graphics cards.
Inviting 12 Partners Back to Hunan for Entrepreneurship
Gu's experience in Shenzhen opened his eyes to the development prospects of artificial intelligence, igniting a spark of entrepreneurship within him. He took immediate action, calling over ten friends, and to his surprise, they all agreed to follow him to Changsha to join the AI entrepreneurship wave. In 2021, twelve young "partners" collectively invested RMB 3 million to establish Hunan Huishiwei Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. in Changsha. However, the entrepreneurial journey was not smooth; upon returning to Changsha, Gu's team struggled with unfamiliarity with local policies and the market, despite their strong technical capabilities, lacking resources and application scenarios.
In the "World Computing - Changsha Intelligent Valley" competition held in 2023, Gu led his team to secure collaboration opportunities in three major projects: smart elevators, smart parking, and smart cleaning. This victory catapulted Huishiwei to fame, with orders pouring in. The "post-95" entrepreneur began to emerge as a star. In March of this year, Gu won the "Golden Seed" award in the AI sector on Hunan TV's "奪金2025," quickly becoming a highly regarded entrepreneurial figure. In less than four years, his company has grown into a national high-tech enterprise valued at over RMB 100 million.
"Our Headquarters Will Always Be in Hunan"
By the end of 2024, Gu Shanzhi, having accumulated rich technical experience in the AI vision field, began developing a visual foundation model. He mentioned his desire to train a model that users could operate on mobile devices without needing an internet connection. Supported by the powerful domestic computing capabilities at the Changsha Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center of Changsha Intelligent Valley, the team completed training on nearly 40 million images in a short time. On May 21, 2025, the first domestic pre-trained visual foundation model, "Juzhou" V1, was officially launched in Changsha.
Gu explained to the media that his return to Changsha for entrepreneurship was based on several considerations: first, the affordable housing and livable environment in Changsha reduce economic pressure on young entrepreneurs; second, the presence of high-end talent from renowned universities like the National University of Defense Technology, Central South University, and Hunan University; and third, Hunan's supportive policies for young entrepreneurs, which offer substantial backing. "We received subsidies from projects like the Xiangjiang New Area's Liuzhi Action, the Hongfeng Plan, the Xiaohe Youth initiative, and the Qianbo Wanshu program, totaling over RMB 3 million in financial support and subsidies by the end of 2024."
When asked if his company would leave Hunan for development as it grows, Gu firmly stated, "Hunan's policies encouraging student entrepreneurship have become increasingly robust, and the technological innovation environment is improving. Regardless of how large our company becomes, our headquarters will always be in Hunan, in the Xiangjiang New Area."
Investing Over 500 Million to Attract College Students to Start Businesses in Hunan
In September 2024, Hunan Provincial Party Secretary Shen Xiaoming extended a sincere invitation for global college students to innovate and start businesses in Hunan, followed by the introduction of a series of supportive policies and measures for student entrepreneurship. These include the seven "1" initiatives, which aim to implement a batch of support policies for student entrepreneurship, establish an investment fund for students, and build distinctive and functional entrepreneurship incubation platforms. Hunan has also established an RMB 505 million investment fund for college students' entrepreneurship, gradually turning the vision of "students being able to come to Hunan to start businesses with their backpacks" into reality.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; English Editor: Kiki)
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