#3 Analysis of the Chinese AIGC Industry: What Are the New Scenarios for Future AI?

Since the rise of the AI era last year, my team and I began developing Minduck, a Web-based AI application designed for users who are not adept at interacting with technological products. Our concept evolved from a simple idea to a complex project addressing hundreds of issues. Now, we're excited to introduce Minduck to everyone on Product Hunt! To give back to the Product Hunt community, we plan to share 10 key insights from our product research and development over the past ten months during our Pre-Launch period. These insights are crucial to our understanding of AI products and are derived from our experiences at Minduck. We hope these content will inspire everyone interested in AI application development. When Minduck was launched last year, it was primarily targeted at the Chinese market. Consequently, our initial research and insights focused on the Chinese AIGC industry. However, I later realized that many of these perspectives could also be valuable on platforms like Product Hunt, and also for global markets. (Incidentally, after our first market validation, we decided to shift Minduck to the international market, making it accessible to all users.) I've summarized three important point of views: 1. Current State of AI Model Companies: Technical Innovation Over Product Innovation Early AI company teams primarily consisted of AI technology researchers rather than product thinkers. Their main goal was to conduct good research while making some money on the side. However, commercial success differs from scientific research. These talented individuals often excel at whatever they do, but they frequently fall into the trap of local optimization, focusing on specific projects while overlooking the true needs of the market and consumers. As a result, even today, many news stories about Chinese AI companies still highlight model performance, such as Kimi's superior handling of long texts. I believe most people don't care about how AI works; they just want better, more user-friendly tools. 2.Challenges in AI Application Industries: Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement in Existing Businesses. Companies can be categorized into two types: existing business + AI and AI + existing business. 2-1. Existing Business + AI: These companies integrate AI API interfaces into their original products, providing added value through new functionalities. Examples include NotionAI, Baidu Wenku+AI, and Microsoft+AI. 2-2. AI + Existing Business: These companies use existing models to create entirely new applications that address current business scenarios. For instance, China's "miaoyaxiangji" is replacing traditional photo studios, while Perplexity, Liner, and China's Metaso are examples of AI + search. Regardless of the type, I believe both are focused on reducing costs and improving efficiency within existing business scenarios. 3. Where Is the New Value? Before the steam engine, people only knew they needed a faster horse. Later, inventions like ships, trains, airplanes, and cars transformed how we work and travel. Instead of focusing on which current business scenarios can be empowered by AI, we should focus on how AI can better serve humans without replacing them. We need to think about how to enhance human capabilities in collaboration with machines, allowing people to excel in what they do best: imagination and creativity. Therefore, we can simply understand Minduck as a product that integrates AI + Your Thinking Logic and Ideas. Thank you for reading this far. In my next post(#4), I will share some research findings related to the market size of the AIGC industry. --- If you find our article valuable, please consider visiting Minduck’s Product Hub to notify us, and stay updated on our launch day!