AI reshapes startup playbook

Can one person replace an entire company? With AI tools taking over tasks once handled by full departments, young entrepreneurs at Motai Space in Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, Hubei province, are turning the idea of "one-person companies" (OPCs) into a real and fast-growing business model — not always run by a single person but often led by one founder with a lean core team.

Motai Space, located near Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), is an AI innovation and incubation center established by Wuhan Optics Valley Financial Holding Group, a key player in the region's technology innovation ecosystem.

Since opening in November 2025, the facility has supported more than 200 young founders exploring low-barrier businesses combined with flexible employment, according to the group. Most projects focus on embodied intelligence, large language models, and AI infrastructure. Motai Space has so far attracted 13 enterprises, many of them operating as one-person companies.

One of those entrepreneurs is 24-year-old Zhang Ao. After graduating from Wuhan University in 2024, he pursued a master's degree at the National University of Singapore. In early 2025, however, he made the bold choice to leave his studies and return to China to start his own company.

He founded the tech firm Lingine in October 2025. The core team has just five members, all born after 2000.

"The potential of AI is limited only by our imagination. People who are stuck in traditional workflows often struggle to see what AI can really do. That's why young teams are such a defining feature of the AI era," Zhang said.

That close human-AI collaboration has driven remarkable productivity gains. Lingine specializes in digital content creation, where work such as 2D and 3D animation, modeling, and rendering — once requiring entire production crews — can now be completed far more efficiently with the support of AI tools.

Zhang had little experience in the animation and film industry, but AI helped him build solid expertise within a month, freeing him to focus on design and long-term strategy rather than getting bogged down in repetitive tasks.

"2025 is often called the year of AI agents," Zhang said. "I believe they will revolutionize many industries."

Beyond a tool

For Luo Zongyi, a sophomore at HUST and CEO of HeartCert, AI is more than just a tool — it's a partner and even his chief strategy officer.

Launched in October 2025, Heart-Cert uses AI to assess job seekers through interviews and performance reviews, then match them with suitable positions.

Recently, as Luo began valuation discussions with investors, AI has also played a central role in how he prepares. He runs simulations to test different scenarios before making major decisions.

"AI doesn't have emotions. It only works with rational probabilities," Luo said. "It helps me avoid the impulsive choices young founders often make."

HeartCert is now aiming for a pre-money valuation of 60 million yuan ($8.59 million).

AI has also been a key driver in the company's product development.

"From design to execution, AI is involved at every step," said Hu Zhihan, 21, HeartCert's chief technology officer."It levels the playing field by making it possible to learn and iterate quickly."

HeartCert's core team has seven members, most of them university students in their early 20s. Supported by the "Joint Lab" co-founded with Professor Zhou Pan's team at HUST, they have published nearly 10 papers at leading AI conferences, including NeurIPS and ICML.

The team's mission grew out of their own experience navigating the job market. They noticed a persistent mismatch: candidates submit resumes repeatedly, while employers spend hours filtering through large numbers of irrelevant applications.

To solve this problem, Luo's team developed a multimodal assessment engine that generates detailed ability reports for job seekers. Employers can then use simple natural language queries to identify the best candidates directly on the platform.

According to Luo, HeartCert has achieved a recruitment conversion rate of 40 percent — higher than most existing platforms — while reducing hiring time by more than 90 percent and cutting recruitment costs by 85 percent.

"My vision is to build a global certification system that's accepted worldwide," Luo said. "I want talent to move freely across borders, like currency."

Looking ahead, the team plans to shift focus away from standardized knowledge tests to abilities AI cannot easily replicate, such as judgment and critical thinking.

"The results people get from AI vary widely," said Zhang Yuxuan, 19, head of operations and data. "Knowing how to choose the right tools, write effective prompts, and evaluate the quality of AI-generated output are essential skills today."

Over the past five years, Wuhan's AI sector has expanded at an average annual rate of more than 40 percent, with total output exceeding 500 billion yuan. This rapid growth has created fertile ground for AI-driven startups.

For founders with limited funding, Motai offers free office space and platforms that connect early-stage companies to investors and academic resources — helping them overcome practical challenges.

"These supports mean we're no longer just students dreaming in dorm rooms," Luo said. "We're genuinely stepping onto the business stage."

Luo's team has already secured an order from a major company, while Zhang Ao's team has attracted several million yuan in angel investment.

The collaborative atmosphere at Motai has also been crucial. "The space brings together some of Wuhan's most forward-thinking AI innovators — where new ideas ignite and flourish,"Zhang Ao said.

Through exchanges with other startups, Zhang Ao gained valuable insights and unexpected partnerships. For example, Lingine has found common ground in cultural tourism with a nearby company that specializes in navigation systems.

"On the surface, our companies seem completely unrelated, so if we hadn't been at Motai together, this collaboration would never have happened,"Zhang Ao said.

Luo also works closely with neighboring teams on recruitment and client resources. "Connections flow freely here," Luo said. "That spirit of mutual support among young founders is what keeps the zone's startup ecosystem so vibrant."

Contact the writers at mengwenjie@i21st.cn