Author: Poetry and Starry Sky

ID: SingingUnderStars

Starry Sky has a saying: AI today is akin to the internet in 1999.

This metaphor encapsulates two key points. Firstly, vast amounts of capital are flooding in, presenting numerous opportunities. Secondly, amidst this bubble, numerous startups will emerge and subsequently fade away.

Particularly, the rapid proliferation of AI Agents has significantly disrupted the traditional software industry. Projects that once required tens of thousands of if statements can now be accomplished by simply connecting to large models with a few lines of prompts.

We observe that established giants such as SAP, Yonyou, and Kingdee are hastily transforming and even rushing to launch their own Agent platforms at the earliest opportunity.

However, Starry Sky believes these efforts may prove futile.

The rationale is straightforward. For large models, you cannot compete with general platforms like DeepSeek and Alibaba; for Agents, you cannot compete with startups or even open-source platforms like Dify. If you do not open up your MCP, you risk being replaced by other software; if you do, you may still be supplanted by Agents...

Regardless of your actions, profiting seems unattainable.

The entire software industry ecosystem will be reshaped around large models, embodying the concept of ALL IN AI.

So, the question arises: why did Wang Ziru make a high-profile announcement about leaving Gree to enter the AI field? Just a week later, Dangdang's Li Guoqing announced his successful divorce and simultaneously ventured into the AI realm.

In truth, not all facets of AI are the same.

Chaos often heralds opportunities.

01

From "Computer Software" to AI Evaluation Rankings

On April 27, 2022, "Computer World," China's largest and oldest IT publication founded in 1980, announced its cessation of publication.

Concurrently, once-glorious magazines such as "Computer Enthusiast" and "Computer Newspaper" have gradually declined. Although they still struggle to maintain operations, they have long lost their former prominence.

Reflecting on the past, what made these magazines so popular?

Evaluations.

In an era when software and games had to be purchased at the Zhongguancun Technology Market, computer magazines became the earliest "grass-planting" platforms.

Many magazines included CD versions, typically offering partial functionality of software and games (such as a few levels of a game) along with detailed evaluation articles to entice computer enthusiasts to purchase and use them.

This approach has been popular for at least 30 years and, after some transformation, has evolved into the KOC grass-planting model of platforms like Xiaohongshu today.

With the decline of print media, online platforms such as "ZOL" and "WeiPhone" began to gain traction, and hardware and software evaluations became a topic of interest among netizens.

Around 2010, China's network conditions further improved, and video evaluations started to increase.

Wang Ziru, who graduated in 2009, recognized this opportunity. He released his first evaluation video on Valentine's Day 2010, an iMac unboxing video, officially commencing his evaluation career.

Wang Ziru's first video featured his real name and face. He posted it on Yuanjing and WeiPhone forums and began promoting himself. The video received a positive response, reaching 1,000 views within 24 hours, and his post ranked first when searching for related keywords on Baidu and Google.

Subsequently, China's mobile phone industry entered an explosive growth phase, and the entire evaluation industry flourished.

Wang Ziru was not the pioneer in video evaluations, but he seized the opportunities in this industry, leveraging them to grow and strengthen his business.

When Wang Ziru announced his entry into the AI field, Starry Sky immediately understood that he intended to pursue AI evaluations.

The rise of large AI models and Agents mirrors the ascent of the digital and mobile phone markets in the past, naturally presenting immense opportunities.

For instance, following the conclusion of the college entrance examination, various domestic large models swiftly ranked themselves based on exam scores, with Yuanbao and Doubao ranking first in liberal arts and science, respectively.

Starry Sky smiles but remains silent. After all, the standard answers for the college entrance examination haven't been released yet. How are these rankings determined?

Whenever a large model is released (or upgraded), an evaluation report is also published. Who conducts these evaluations?

It cannot be the large model manufacturers themselves. It's typically a recognized, relatively impartial third party.

For AI evaluation agencies, there lie immense business opportunities here.

Currently, China does not even have a well-established evaluation agency. Most evaluations rely on benchmark scores from relatively objective (yet not entirely so) foreign evaluation platforms.

Wang Ziru remarked, "I'm well-versed in all of this."

02

Wang Ziru's Career at Gree: Was It Live Streaming or a Cleaver?

Some speculate that Wang Ziru joined Gree to engage in live streaming but failed.

What is the truth?

Videos released by Wang Ziru after his departure revealed that he was not responsible for live streaming but instead "reshaped the entire sales system, encompassing warehousing, logistics, and after-sales."

Starry Sky reviewed Gree's annual report and discovered that this aligned with Gree's sales channel reform efforts in recent years.

To enhance operational quality, Gree took drastic measures against its dealers.

Dong Mingzhu, with a sales background, has a complex relationship with various dealers, making it sometimes inconvenient to wield the knife.

According to reports, during Wang Ziru's tenure at Gree, he primarily promoted the new online wholesale system, terminal management system, and dispatching 4.0 system, which coincide with his claim of "reshaping the entire sales system."

These initiatives were already underway before Wang Ziru's arrival. Essentially, it was Gree's inherent need for development that drove the reform of its channels and the extraction of profits from dealers.

It was better to use a borrowed knife.

Bearing the burden of "not understanding manufacturing," Wang Ziru transformed into a formidable cleaver, completing Gree's radical channel optimization work, and then departed.

It had nothing to do with live streaming!

Starry Sky delved into the few systems that Wang Ziru implemented at Gree in a very short span. They actually possessed a high gold content, and only an "outsider" has the resolve to take such drastic measures.

03

A New Era of Large AI Models

Starry Sky is also engaged in research and entrepreneurship in the AI field, having conducted extensive research and practical operations. His advice is: go to factories and workshops.

Attempting to profit in the AI field using internet methods means facing seasoned veterans like Wang Ziru as competitors, which can be quite daunting. However, as privatized deployment gains popularity, factories and workshops that missed out on the Industrial Internet will now confront AI transformation in this new era.

What's more remarkable is that Agents can replace the functions originally achieved by professional software like ERP at a fraction of the cost.

Perhaps someone may ask, how can you profit with lower prices?

Starry Sky's response is that this market space is vastly larger than you imagine.

Most industrial enterprises operate on slim profit margins. They cannot afford ERP or can only afford its basic components. Many business processes are still conducted offline, which can be seamlessly connected using Agents. In the ERP era, a company sold for 1 million yuan, but only 100 companies could afford it; in the Agent era, a company sells for 10,000 yuan, and 100,000 companies can afford it.

-END- Disclaimer: This article is based on the public attributes of listed companies and incorporates analysis and research with core information disclosed by listed companies in accordance with their legal obligations (including but not limited to temporary announcements, periodic reports, and official interaction platforms, etc.). Poetry and Starry Sky strives for fairness in the content and opinions presented in the article but does not guarantee its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, etc. The information or opinions expressed in this article do not constitute any investment advice, and Poetry and Starry Sky assumes no responsibility for any actions taken based on this article. Copyright Notice: The content of this article is originally created by Poetry and Starry Sky and may not be reproduced without authorization.