DEMOCHINA turns 20: 88 startups pitch in Hangzhou, Wange Zhiyuan wins DEMOGOD
创业邦 · wechat · 2026-09-27
2026 DEMOCHINA was held Sept 22-24 in Hangzhou under the theme "From Research to Reality," with 88 startups (52 AI, 22 hard-tech, 14 bio/med) pitching to 200+ investors. Wange Zhiyuan, founded by Tsinghua PhD candidate Wang Guanbo with a 90% Gen-Z team focused on edge infrastructure for AI and agents, won DEMOGOD.
Embodied AI panels stressed that robotic manipulation needs touch and force data beyond vision, and that competition is shifting from model capability to real-scene validation. Investors urged founders to prove who can actually make money in real scenarios, while executives debated when startups should move fast versus patiently.
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