Digital entrepreneurship in the AI age

We are living through an age of unprecedented acceleration, especially for digital entrepreneurs. Having spent decades navigating the global tech ecosystem, I can confidently say that the past 18 months represent one of the most significant gear shifts I’ve witnessed since the birth of the internet.

The traditional approach to building startups is being radically reshaped. Where founders once needed to raise millions to build teams of engineers, designers and marketers, today, a single individual with the right tools can conceptualize, prototype and launch a product—all in a fraction of the time and cost. This is not just efficiency. It’s a redefinition of scale.

At the heart of this transformation is artificial intelligence (AI). What we’re seeing now is the worst version of AI we’ll ever have—and it’s already astonishing. The technology is improving at a pace that makes even seasoned entrepreneurs pause, and when you combine AI with robotics and blockchain, the result is an environment where new ideas can move from imagination to impact almost instantly.

The rise of the everything entrepreneur

In the past, turning an idea into a product meant navigating a labyrinth of technical, financial and organizational barriers. Today, many of those barriers have fallen away. AI has become a co-pilot for builders, and you no longer need to be a full-stack developer to launch a digital service. With generative tools and no-code platforms, even non-technical founders can build functional applications, generate visuals, write content and market products—potentially even within the same day.

This trend has ushered in the rise of “vibe coding.” The idea person, once limited by technical knowledge or ability, is now empowered to create directly. This isn’t about replacing talent but about augmenting potential. We’re seeing the re-emergence of the polymath entrepreneur—someone who understands the problem deeply, leverages AI for execution and adapts in real time to market signals.

China as an example: From follower to frontrunner

For years, China was seen as a fast follower—quick to adopt innovations from the West and adapt them for scale. That narrative no longer holds. In sectors ranging from digital payments and e-commerce to EVs and industrial automation, China has surged ahead. It is now not just competing on technology, it is redefining it.

China’s innovation ecosystem operates at speed. The iterative cycles are faster, the funding flows are more aggressive and the consumer base is more receptive to experimentation. I’ve led executive tours through Shanghai and Shenzhen, bringing leaders from Silicon Valley and Europe to see what is happening here. The reactions are often ones of disbelief. Some describe legacy systems in the West—particularly in payments and logistics—as “museum pieces” compared to what they see in China.

This speed advantage isn’t accidental. China’s vertical integration—from design to manufacturing to distribution—gives it unmatched agility. And culturally, there’s a higher tolerance for trial and error, especially in younger tech hubs like Chengdu and Xiamen, where thousands of entrepreneurs are testing new AI applications across industry verticals.

While AI is transforming nearly every sector, one convergence stands out: AI, robotics and blockchain. These three forces, working in tandem, will define the next industrial wave.

AI is cognitive, or at least provides decision-making, pattern recognition and learning. Robotics is physical. It brings these decisions into the real world—rolling, flying and interacting with our environments. Blockchain is economic and structural. It allows machines to transact, negotiate and operate autonomously.

For example, imagine a delivery robot that needs to recharge. Instead of being hard-coded to find a specific port, it could negotiate a micro-transaction with another device or facility to access charging. If it encounters a toll barrier or secure building, it could use blockchain credentials to gain entry, paying a fraction of a token for access or priority. This may sound speculative, but the foundations are already in place.

I launched Intercognitive, an industry group dedicated to this convergence, because I believe that by 2030, we’ll have tens of millions of autonomous machines operating semi-independently. By 2040, this number could reach the tens of billions. These aren’t just devices—they’re economic actors in a machine-to-machine economy. And China, with its manufacturing scale and AI talent, is likely to lead the charge.

Building a business

Product-market fit is the holy grail of entrepreneurship. Even when you build something people want, getting it in front of them is often harder than creating it in the first place. Too many startups get to launch day only to be met with silence. That’s because the true challenge lies not in building a product, but in scaling and marketing.

What this often results in is that while first-time entrepreneurs focus on product, experienced entrepreneurs focus on distribution.

And distribution isn’t universal—it’s deeply contextual. In China, digital distribution is tied to ecosystems dominated by Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance. Building a presence often means playing by their rules. Western-style SEO, open app stores or traditional affiliate marketing simply don’t work the same way. That’s why foreign startups have often struggled, particularly in recent years, to break into the China market. The window of easy access closed long ago. But for domestic players who understand the landscape, the opportunity remains vast.

There is also the issue of raising capital for your business, and in this case, storytelling trumps spreadsheets. Data validates. Stories sell.

At Peking University, where I teach entrepreneurship, I focus on the craft of storytelling. Investors, particularly at early stages, are betting on vision and founder-market fit, not just models and projections. A strong story makes your pitch memorable, shareable and emotionally resonant. This is less about spin and more about clarity. The best startup stories take a complex idea and make it inevitable. They align a team, energize partners and create the kind of gravitational pull that gets the right people in the room.

If you want to stand out in a noisy market, learn to tell a story that’s impossible to ignore.

Where to look for your next idea

Despite the buzz around foundational models like DeepSeek, GPT and Grok, the real opportunity lies in the application layer, where AI meets practical applications in industry or services, etc. That’s where value is created at scale—and where small teams can move faster than tech giants.

I often think of application-layer entrepreneurs as woodland creatures darting between the feet of dinosaurs. They’re nimble, focused and opportunistic. They don’t need massive infrastructure—they need speed, insight and agility.

Open-source models further democratize this space. Anyone can fine-tune a model, add a proprietary data layer and launch a targeted solution. Whether it’s in education, finance, logistics or healthcare, the surface area for innovation is immense. And because AI can adapt to specific use cases, there’s room for niche products to thrive.

This is where new unicorns will emerge, not necessarily from building the largest models, but from applying AI in the most insightful and user-centric ways.

This being said, there is still a need for foundational model development, and while DeepSeek proved to some degree that a smaller team can succeed in this space, there are still questions as to the financial viability of doing so, particularly in the open-source era.

The answer is nuanced. Right now, it’s unclear how sustainable the economics are, as infrastructure costs can be massive, and open-source pressure is intense. But this ambiguity is not unusual. Amazon lost money for years. Google and Facebook didn’t have obvious business models in their early stages. Instagram was mocked for being acquired at $1 billion without revenue.

That said, companies like OpenAI may ultimately monetize through vertical integrations, developer ecosystems and enterprise APIs. There’s also precedent in WordPress and Automattic, which built a thriving business around open-source infrastructure.

The lesson? Even if foundational models don’t drive profit directly, they can create ecosystems that do.

A world redefined

If the last 15 years gave us smartphones, apps and always-on connectivity, the next 15 years will be defined by intelligent infrastructure—AI-native products, ambient robotics and vertical urban mobility.

One of the most fascinating emerging trends is the “low-altitude economy.” In cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou, we’re seeing the beginnings of aerial transportation networks. The idea of commuting from rooftop to rooftop via autonomous air taxis isn’t far-fetched. It’s a design principle already shaping urban planning.

This vertical shift changes everything—from logistics and safety to real estate and architecture. And again, China is setting the pace. It’s not just participating in the next wave of mobility—it’s defining it.

Perhaps the most exciting development is AI’s growing role as a business actor. I’ve already encountered startups where AI systems serve as official co-founders. These AIs analyze prospects, hold conversations, initiate business development and even make warm introductions—better than some human founders I’ve worked with.

This is no longer theoretical, it is happening now. The boundaries of what constitutes a “team” are shifting, and our regulatory frameworks, business structures and investment theses will need to adapt. AI is not just a tool. It’s becoming a participant in the economy.

What comes next?

We are entering an age of recursive acceleration. AI builds AI. Robots build robots. Entrepreneurs, both human and synthetic, are building the future at speeds we’re only beginning to comprehend.

China is not just along for the ride. It’s at the front, helping set the tempo, rewriting the rules and redefining what’s possible. For entrepreneurs who understand the convergence of technology, storytelling and execution, the opportunities are immense. This is not just a new chapter in digital entrepreneurship—it’s a new playbook entirely.