At the MFSZ25 forum, Wu Xianliang, Senior Vice President of Shenzhen InnoX Academy, used his seven years of practical experience—from DJI drones to autonomous driving, and then deep cultivation in the European market—to answer a core question: In the AI era, where are the opportunities for startups?
The answer lies not in models and computing power, but in scenarios and data. “Exhibitions let you understand products, but only by deeply entering users’ real scenarios can you gain insight into true entrepreneurial opportunities. The only entry point for startups is high-quality data that is continuously strengthened for vertical segmented fields.” A video of the speech is attached at the end. Leave a comment for a chance to receive MFSZ special souvenirs!
The Seven-Year Long March of Autonomous Driving:
The Game Between Technology and Standards
From completing a full-featured demo in 2018 to the official release in 2024, Wu Xianliang’s team’s autonomous driving project went through a long six years. This cycle reveals a truth: technological breakthrough is just the beginning; meeting automotive-grade standards is the real challenge.
Functional safety, quality systems and other standard requirements demanded the team invest tremendous energy writing defensive code. A genius algorithm engineer, tired of standardization work, instead applied the Transformer architecture to lane detection for the first time in his spare time—innovation often happens outside standardized processes.
What’s more noteworthy is the market difference: even though they lost orders domestically due to falling behind in technological transformation, the project remained stable in the European market. The European market is slow to enter, but once trust is established, loyalty is extremely high; the domestic market is more flexible and changeable.
Three Innovation Models for Going Global
Through the IFA exhibition and on-site inspections of European physical stores, Wu Xianliang summarized three innovation models:
Micro-innovation Model: Such as Hisense and other display manufacturers, with impressive exhibition presence but offline sales unable to compete with Samsung and LG, relying more on supply chain advantages rather than product breakthroughs.
Technological Innovation Model: Such as Dreame and Roborock, achieving substantial innovation in components and categories, able to be displayed alongside Dyson, finding clear market positioning.
Category Innovation Model: Such as DJI and Insta360, defining entirely new categories and occupying mainstream international positions, representing the fundamental transformation of the Bay Area from micro-innovation to original innovation.
Scenario is Truth: Deep Frontline Insight is Needed to Understand the Market
Exhibitions can only help you understand products; real insights must come from deep scenario immersion.
Electric boat company Yidong is already the world’s number one, but why do they only make 500-1000 watt products? Because European fishing scenarios require quickly reaching fishing spots and continuing navigation for four to five hours, which is difficult to experience domestically. Marine towing devices are hard to break through because they’re deeply bound to the yacht industry chain—a closed ecosystem.
On-site inspections reveal even more details: Poland has become a shipbuilding production base—calculate transportation and tax costs and you’ll understand why; the well-equipped lake areas of southern France, the prevalent trailer culture, the ubiquitous pet strollers all showcase completely different lifestyles.
Core principle: When making large products, you must calculate logistics and tax accounts clearly; before entering a market, you must conduct “field research,” deeply entering the life scenarios of ordinary people—this is basic respect for users.
Thank you all for your attention to the Greater Bay Area International Maker Summit and Maker Faire Shenzhen! Previously, many friends left messages wanting to see our forum replay videos. After this year’s event, we will share forum replay videos every week, so keep following our official account messages!
Also, the top five friends with the most likes in previous interactive activities, please leave your contact information and address via private message in the background, and we will arrange to send prizes!
Xianliang Wu | Rethinking China’s Innovation Going Global
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