Jieyue Star 'builds smartphones,' revealing Yin Qi's ambitions

(This article was authored by Damo Finance and published by TMTPost with permission.)

Text by |Dharma Finance

The former 'AI Six Tigers' have now taken distinctly different development paths.

Zhipu AI (2513.HK) and MINIMAX (0100.HK) have already listed in Hong Kong, with the former’s market cap briefly surpassing HK$1 trillion. Baichuan Intelligence and 01.ai have quietly stepped back from the race to build foundational large models and shifted focus to AI applications. Meanwhile, Moonshot AI and StepFun are frequently rumored to be preparing for IPOs, accelerating their capital market maneuvers.

The divergence in strategies among these AI companies reflects a broader shift in the narrative of the large model industry. The era of burning cash to develop foundational model capabilities is fading, and commercialization has become an urgent priority for AI firms.

As one of the 'AI Six Tigers,' StepFun views its move into AI devices as a critical step toward enhancing its commercialization capabilities.

On July 13, StepFun officially launched its native large-model AI device brand STEPX in Shanghai, unveiling the agent-native operating system Step AOS, its next-generation personal AI agent Amoo, and the large-model-native agent smartphone STEPX Neo.

On July 14, listed company Qianli Technology (601777.SH) also announced it would integrate Step AOS, Step Amoo, and Step Edge—an on-device model designed for automotive, mobile, and other terminal scenarios—into the automotive sector to develop a large-model-native vehicle terminal for the age of intelligent agents.

Yin Qi, chairman of both StepFun and Qianli Technology and a veteran in the AI industry, is widely seen as the key figure connecting this AI industrial chain. Under Yin’s leadership, StepFun is attempting a new commercialization strategy: advancing its large model capabilities while simultaneously entering the hardware terminal market to capture the AI entry point.

However, whether this commercialization path will succeed remains subject to multiple real-world challenges, including technology, data security, and market competition.

Before StepFun, large model companies such as Zhipu AI and MINIMAX had already begun exploring commercialization strategies.

Zhipu AI primarily targets the B2B market, generating revenue by providing its 'AI infrastructure system' to government and enterprise clients. According to its 2025 annual report, the company’s main products include an open platform and APIs, enterprise-grade AI agents, and enterprise-level general-purpose large models.

MINIMAX serves both enterprise (B2B) and consumer (B2C) users. Its B2B business primarily offers an open platform for enterprise clients, while its B2C offerings include the AI companion app Talkie/Xingye, the AI video generation platform Hailuo AI, and the AI voice-over tool MiniMax Audio.

Baichuan Intelligence and 01.ai similarly focus on the B2B segment, primarily offering AI applications tailored for enterprises. Baichuan Intelligence has launched a large AI model specifically for the healthcare industry, while 01.ai has built a product portfolio comprising Wance AI and 'No.1 AI,' providing AI-powered tools for corporate executives—such as CEOs and key business leaders—to support enterprise management, sales, and investment decisions.

Unlike other large-model AI companies, JUMPSTART AI early on pursued an 'AI + terminal devices' strategy to drive its commercialization efforts.

Publicly available information shows that in the smartphone sector, JUMPSTART AI has partnered with leading domestic brands such as OPPO and Honor, with its technologies installed on over 42 million devices and serving nearly 20 million users daily. In the automotive sector, the company has collaborated with Qianli Technology and Geely Auto to launch intelligent cockpit systems, which are currently integrated into models such as the Galaxy M9.

JUMPSTART AI’s recent launch of its AI terminal brand STEPX represents a further step beyond its previous role of supplying on-device foundational products to hardware manufacturers—it is now entering the market directly with its own hardware product.

At the July 13 launch event, Yin Qi explained why JUMPSTART AI is venturing into hardware. He stated that the company will continue its existing B2B model, providing comprehensive AI capabilities to smartphone and in-vehicle OEMs. However, under the current smartphone ecosystem, it is difficult for JUMPSTART AI to fully integrate its models, operating system, and agent products into existing terminals. Therefore, the company aims to take the lead by building a complete system itself.

In Yin Qi’s view, JUMPSTART AI’s top priority now is to develop its Step AOS operating system. Without launching an innovative terminal first, Step AOS cannot achieve a closed-loop value proposition or truly reach consumers. Yin also pledged that once Step AOS and its ecosystem mature, the company would be very willing to empower existing smartphone manufacturers with it.

From JUMPSTART AI’s perspective, entering the hardware space is a crucial step toward achieving a closed-loop value chain. However, building a true AI terminal remains highly challenging at this stage.

As early as 2025, Doubao, a product under ByteDance, partnered with ZTE to launch the 'Doubao Phone,' equipped with the Doubao mobile assistant. At launch, users could simply speak a phrase to automatically trigger actions such as price comparisons, ticket bookings, food delivery orders, and even job application submissions.

During the media Q&A session following the StepStar launch event, Yin Qi also discussed how STEPX differs from other AI terminals. He stated, 'Previous Agentic OS (Agent Operating Systems) were mostly iterative upgrades based on Android, but our approach is different. Our OS is positioned as a middleware layer running atop all future on-device operating systems, built from the ground up for AI agents under the principle of human-AI symbiosis, and backward compatible with Android, Linux, and RTOS.'

Despite differing technical approaches, StepStar’s STEPX will still face controversies regarding data security and privacy protection. Additionally, ecosystem barriers and API restrictions among different internet applications will also pose significant challenges for STEPX.

To address information security concerns, StepStar has introduced an agent safety framework based on the principles of 'trustworthy, visible, controllable, and reversible,' implementing hard mechanisms such as sandboxing and rollback capabilities, along with dynamic, data-driven security protocols.

Regarding internet ecosystem fragmentation, StepStar has opted to resolve the issue through collaboration with major internet companies. Market sources indicate that STEPX has already established deep AI partnerships with Ctrip, Alipay, DiDi, Meituan, WPS, and CapCut, all of which have integrated with STEPX Neo via API interfaces.

Notably, as StepStar enters the AI terminal market, its competitors are also emerging. In July this year, Ni Fei, President of ZTE’s Terminal Business Unit and General Manager of Nubia, announced that the company would unveil an AI agent smartphone at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which the market views as the next iteration of the Doubao smartphone.

Moreover, OpenAI, the leading U.S. AI foundation model company, has also announced its entry into the AI terminal space, aiming to create a closed-loop ecosystem integrating models, operating systems, and hardware.

As large AI models continue to evolve, the AI terminal industry is bound to expand further. Whether StepStar can secure a competitive edge remains to be seen by the market.

StepStar’s bold bet on AI terminals owes much to the leadership of its chairman, Yin Qi.

At 38 years old, Yin Qi is a quintessential high-achieving technologist, holding a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Tsinghua University’s Yao Class and a master’s degree in computer science from Columbia University.

In 2011, Yin Qi co-founded Megvii with his Tsinghua University classmates Tang Wenbin and Yang Mu, launching the widely acclaimed Face++ facial recognition platform. Megvii, along with SenseTime, CloudWalk, and Yitu, became known as the 'Four Little Dragons of AI' during the AI 1.0 era.

However, Megvii Technology's path to listing has not been smooth. In 2019, Megvii filed for a Hong Kong listing, but ultimately decided to withdraw due to its inclusion on the Entity List. In 2021, the company switched course and applied for a listing on the STAR Market; it submitted its registration application just six months after filing. However, the company never completed its listing and ultimately terminated its registration in 2024.

Following Megvii’s failed IPO attempts in both Hong Kong and on the A-share market, Yin Qi gradually stepped back from the company. In 2023, Jiang Daxin, who has a Microsoft background, founded StepFun, with Yin Qi playing a deeply involved role. In January 2026, Yin Qi assumed the role of Chairman of StepFun.

In 2024, Yin Qi also gained the favor of Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely Holding Group. That same year, Yin Qi acquired a 19.91% stake in Lifan Technology, becoming its second-largest shareholder and assuming the role of Chairman. In 2025, Lifan Technology was renamed Qianli Technology and began transforming its business toward AI-integrated automotive applications such as intelligent driving and intelligent cabins.

At this point, Yin Qi serves as Chairman of both StepFun and Qianli Technology, spearheading R&D and commercialization efforts at both companies and leveraging this dual role to establish an integrated industrial ecosystem spanning large AI models to intelligent terminals.

In an AI industry dominated by tech giants, whether Yin Qi can lead StepFun and Qianli Technology down a distinctive new path remains worth watching closely.

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