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JOURNEY · DETAIL
Hangzhou Xinglang Technology: AI Virtual Human Live Streaming Agency Service Provider for Small and Medium Merchants
Founded: Li Ming, Zhang Wei · Hangzhou Xinglang Technology Co., Ltd.
JOURNEY
Key Fields
FIELD STAMPSIndustryContent / Creator Economy
RegionChina
ScaleMid-size
ChannelOther
Origin
Founder Li Ming previously served as an official operations manager for Taobao Live. In 2023, he observed that the annual cost for small and medium-sized merchants to build a live-streaming team exceeded 200,000 RMB, compounded by high turnover of real-life hosts and unstable content output. In 2024, domestic AI virtual human technology achieved commercial rollout, significantly enhancing realism and interactivity. Consequently, in March 2024, he co-founded Xinglang Technology in Hangzhou with former ByteDance AI algorithm engineer Zhang Wei, focusing on providing AI virtual human live-streaming agency services for small and medium merchants to solve their pain points of lacking professional teams and facing high broadcasting costs.
Milestones
2024
Startup Phase PMF
In the early stages of the team's establishment, based on an open-source virtual human model, they provided test broadcasting services for 12 local apparel merchants in Hangzhou at a monthly fee of 2,999 RMB per client. Over 3 months, cumulative revenue reached 108,000 RMB, with a customer retention/repurchase rate of 62%, verifying the strong demand among small and medium merchants for low-cost, low-threshold virtual human live streaming, and completing the refinement of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
2024
Expansion Phase Failure
In June 2024, the team attempted to customize a high-end virtual human live-streaming solution for a local cosmetics brand. Due to a lengthy delivery cycle of up to 2 months, they missed the brand's June 18 shopping festival window, resulting in the client canceling the order and a loss of 300,000 RMB in expected revenue. In August, they blindly raised the monthly service fee from 2,999 RMB to 8,999 RMB while expanding the sales team to 20 people, acquiring only 3 clients that month and incurring a loss of 230,000 RMB. The core reasons were the low acceptance of high-priced virtual human agency services among small and medium merchants, and the sales team's unfamiliarity with technical parameters, leading to a conversion rate of less than 5%.
2024
Adjustment Phase Turning Point
In 2024, the team adjusted their strategy, launching an entry-level virtual human live-streaming package priced at 1,999 RMB/month, which included virtual human avatar customization, AI script generation, and full live-streaming room management services. At the same time, they downsized the sales team to 8 people, focusing on small and medium apparel and cosmetics merchants on Douyin and Kuaishou. That month, they acquired 45 clients, with single-month revenue exceeding 500,000 RMB and a month-on-month growth of 217%, achieving a turning point from loss to profitability.
2025
Growth Phase Growth
The team integrated into the official Douyin E-commerce service provider system, obtaining compliance operation qualifications for virtual human live streaming. Subsequently, they launched customized vertical industry solutions such as catering store-visits and cosmetics evaluations, serving a cumulative total of over 200 merchants. Single-month peak revenue reached 2.8 million RMB, and cumulative revenue in the first half of 2025 exceeded 12 million RMB. The team size expanded to 35 people, and the customer retention rate remained stable above 60%.
2026
Expansion Phase Transition
Addressing client feedback regarding stiff virtual human scripts and poor interactivity, the team invested 1.2 million RMB in self-developing a large interactive model for virtual humans, boosting the live-streaming interaction conversion rate from 3.2% to 8.7%. Subsequently, they secured 5 million RMB in Pre-A round financing with a post-investment valuation of 120 million RMB, planning to serve over 1,000 merchants by the end of 2026 across three major scenarios: live-streaming e-commerce, local lifestyle services, and corporate publicity.
Turning Points
- In August 2024, after the failure of the high-pricing strategy, shifted to affordable entry-level packages to match the purchasing power of small and medium merchants.
- In November 2024, integrated into the official Douyin E-commerce service provider system, gaining compliance operation qualifications to unlock incremental markets.
- In February 2026, self-developed an interactive large model to solve the core industry pain point of poor virtual human interactivity, building a technological barrier.
Failures & Pitfalls
- In August 2024, blindly raised prices to 8,999 RMB/month, acquiring only 3 clients in a single month and losing 230,000 RMB.
- In June 2024, a customized high-end solution for a cosmetics brand missed the major shopping festival node due to an excessively long delivery cycle, losing 300,000 RMB in expected revenue.
- In March 2025, the launched AI auto-script feature caused broadcast failures for 3 clients due to inaccurate recognition, resulting in 120,000 RMB in customer compensation.
关键成功要素
- Accurately anchored the low-cost live-streaming demand of small and medium merchants, launching affordable entry-level packages to lower the decision-making threshold.
- Integrated platform official service provider qualifications to gain traffic support and compliance endorsement.
- Self-developed a virtual human interactive large model to resolve the industry's core pain point of poor interactivity.
- Focused on vertical industries to output customized live-streaming solutions, enhancing customer retention and average order value.
Lessons
- B2B service pricing must match the target customers' purchasing power; blind price increases will drive away the core user base.
- In the early startup phase, PMF must be quickly validated before expanding the team to avoid excessive labor cost growth leading to losses.
- Technical implementation solutions must undergo small-scale testing before full rollout to prevent functional flaws from causing customer churn.
- Platform compliance qualifications are core entry conditions for live-streaming services and must be prioritized for acquisition.
Core Data
- Cumulative revenue in H1 2025：12 million RMB (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
- Maximum single-month revenue：2.8 million RMB (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
- Cumulative merchants served：200 (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
- Team size：35 people (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
- Customer retention rate：62% (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
- Live-streaming interaction conversion rate：8.7% (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
- Post-angel round financing amount：5 million RMB (based on public data disclosures, independently unverified)
Competitors / Peers
Major competitors in the domestic AI virtual human live-streaming agency field include YouYou Media's virtual human division, Jisisi Technology, and Silicon Intelligence among other leading institutions. YouYou Media focuses on high-end brand customization services leveraging its own host resources and MCN advantages; Jisisi Technology emphasizes full-link e-commerce virtual human solutions; Silicon Intelligence focuses on technology output; while Xinglang Technology builds its core differentiated competitiveness around affordable entry-level packages and vertical industry customization solutions, targeting the small and medium merchant market overlooked by leading institutions.