After leaving Smartisan and ByteDance, Wu Dezhou launched AI sports glasses ahead of Meta | 36 individuals emerged
Emergence is a key phenomenon in the wave of generative AI. When the scale of the model expands to a critical point, AI will exhibit human-like intelligence, being able to understand, learn, and even create.
"Emergence" is also happening in the real world. As the silicon-based civilization is on the verge of breaking out, entrepreneurs and creators in the AI field are using their wisdom and minds to light up the long journey towards achieving AGI.
At the juncture of the alternation of old and new productive forces, "Intelligent Emergence" launches a new column called "36 People of Emergence". Through conversations with key figures in the industry, we will record the new thinking at this stage.
Interview | Wang Fangyu, Yang Xuan
Text | Wang Fangyu
Editor | Su Jianxun
Wu Dezhou, whose ancestral home is in Ningde, Fujian, has the spirit of "loving to fight and daring to win" that is characteristic of Fujian people. In the past decade, his roles have changed from being the person in charge of the product line of Huawei Honor, to serving as the vice president of hardware R & D at Smartisan Technology, and then to becoming the president of the New Stone Laboratory at ByteDance. However, the spark of entrepreneurship in his heart has always been burning.
In 2022, Wu Dezhou left ByteDance and founded the smart glasses company "Salute to the Unknown", stepping into the same new trend as his former partner Luo Yonghao.
Being the vice president of Smartisan Technology was the role that Wu Dezhou was most well - known for among the public. It has been nearly five years since the release of Smartisan Technology's last mobile phone, but there are still users leaving messages on Wu Dezhou's Weibo to talk about the old products of Smartisan.
This experience has also had an imperceptible influence on Wu Dezhou. As the vice president of Smartisan Technology, he was mainly responsible for product R & D, supply chain, and operations - related work. He learned the way of doing things in a startup company, that is, using relatively limited funds and resources to achieve satisfactory results, and how to deal with investment institutions.
Wu Dezhou, the founder of Salute to the Unknown Image source: Enterprise authorization
On the day of the interview with "Intelligent Emergence", Wu Dezhou was wearing a simple blue cycling T - shirt. He said that he had just started cycling not long ago. In order to better understand the needs of users, he has been cycling every day for more than half a year. He has lost a lot of weight and has also led the product managers in the company to cycle together.
Cycling and sports are the core scenarios that "Salute to the Unknown" focuses on.
Different from AI glasses brands such as Thunderbird Innovation, AnkerMake, and Rokid, which target general scenarios, "Salute to the Unknown" has chosen a vertical sports scenario and launched a new sports technology brand, BleeqUp, for this purpose. Its first AI sports glasses, the BleeqUp Ranger, are a vertical - scenario product specifically designed for outdoor sports such as cycling and hiking. They will be launched overseas at the end of June.
The first AI glasses of BleeqUp not only look similar to regular cycling glasses in appearance but also have many differentiated designs for cycling:
In order to obtain a better photo - taking perspective, the camera of the glasses is placed in the middle instead of on the sides; physical buttons are designed for taking photos and videos instead of the regular sliding gestures; in order to allow users to clearly hear the sound during high - speed cycling, double the number of speakers are equipped; and the video recording function can be automatically triggered when dangerous moments such as sudden braking or collisions are detected, leaving key evidence for subsequent accident handling and analysis.
It is worth mentioning that Meta also plans to jointly create a co - branded AI sports glasses product with the well - known sports glasses brand Oakley, which is expected to be launched this summer. BleeqUp has launched AI sports shooting glasses ahead of Meta. The two types of glasses focus on the same scenario, have cameras located in the middle, and are equipped with similar AI detection functions.
The first AI glasses of BleeqUp Image source: Enterprise authorization
Wu Dezhou believes that AI glasses for general scenarios are within the reach of mobile phone manufacturers, and it is difficult for startups to compete with large companies. This is not only because mobile phone manufacturers are wealthy and have years of experience in imaging technology, but also because they can access the permissions of the mobile phone applications they own, controlling the entrance to the AI experience and having an "absolute advantage."
In Wu Dezhou's future vision, in the general scenario, AI glasses will become a personal all - day intelligent assistant. If they cannot access all the permissions of the mobile phone, such as booking air tickets, ordering takeaways, or recording meeting minutes, it will greatly affect the user experience of the AI glasses.
Although mobile phone manufacturers do not have a strong presence in the current AI glasses market, in Wu Dezhou's view, it doesn't matter whether mobile phone manufacturers enter the market half a year earlier or later. "When the industry enters the explosive period, the competition in user experience is essentially a competition in full - stack capabilities. In this regard, mobile phone manufacturers have a crushing structural advantage."
Against this background, AI glasses for vertical scenarios are one of the few opportunities for startups.
Wu Dezhou cited the example of Garmin sports watches: Although mobile phone manufacturers such as Apple and Huawei have launched sports watches, Garmin watches still hold a stable position in the smart watch market with their differentiated and scenario - based functions and designs. The choice of "Salute to the Unknown" is to become the "Garmin" in the field of smart glasses.
2025 is regarded as the first year of AI glasses in the industry, and nearly a hundred brands will launch products, triggering a "battle of a hundred glasses." In this melee, there are consumer electronics manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Samsung, and Lenovo, as well as technology giants such as ByteDance and Baidu Xiaodu, and emerging startups such as Thunderbird Innovation and Li Weike.
In Wu Dezhou's view, in the "battle of a hundred glasses", the core competitiveness of "Salute to the Unknown" is not the first - mover advantage, nor the consumer electronics experience of the team; instead, it is the choice of scenarios, the understanding of scenarios and users, and the continuous iteration of product experience.
"The choices we make regarding product functions and specifications are all for the sake of these sports users. As the product continues to iterate, I believe we will understand sports users better and better, and ultimately achieve the best product experience and occupy the users' minds in terms of brand. This will be our core barrier." Wu Dezhou said to "Intelligent Emergence".
The following is the transcript of the conversation between "Intelligent Emergence" and Wu Dezhou, the founder of "Salute to the Unknown", after editing:
Users' willingness to wear is the "1", and the functions and scenarios behind are the "0"s
"Intelligent Emergence": After leaving ByteDance, why did you choose to develop smart glasses?
Wu Dezhou: When I left Huawei in 2016, my goal was very clear - to start a business. Therefore, I joined Smartisan Technology. Strictly speaking, Smartisan was the first place where I truly participated in entrepreneurship. Although the company had already taken shape at that time and was not in the stage of starting from scratch, it was still an important starting point for my entrepreneurship.
I also wanted to start a business when I left ByteDance in 2022. When choosing the entrepreneurial direction at that time, I had the following starting points. Firstly, I hoped that the future space of the track would be large enough; secondly, it was a track that I liked and the team was good at, and most of our past experience and accumulation could be reused.
In the past nearly 20 years, I have been working on mobile phones, which are the entrance to the mobile Internet era. However, I believe that the next biggest computing platform will be smart glasses (including AI, XR, AR). The space of this track is large enough, so I started my own two brands. One is the AR glasses brand ARknovv, and the other is the sports technology brand BleeqUp, which focuses on vertical sports scenarios.
"Intelligent Emergence": The AR and XR tracks have been quite tortuous in the past few years. It can be said to be a blood - soaked battlefield. How do you view the risks of the track at that time?
Wu Dezhou: Regarding the current development of the AR and VR industries, it is more appropriate to say that the market is weeding out homogeneous products rather than "being littered with corpses." New technologies all have a development process, and I still firmly believe that in the future, smart glasses will become the largest next - generation interactive entrance. You may have noticed that many mobile phone companies are now starting to layout products in the form of glasses.
XR is a technology that can interact with space. It can only be said that it is a bit ahead of its time at present. Especially, the display technology is not yet mature, resulting in the product's performance in various aspects not meeting the requirements of a large - scale, must - have, general - purpose smart hardware. However, it has demand in some vertical scenarios. I judge that AI glasses will enter the consumer - grade scenario and explode more quickly than XR glasses.
"Intelligent Emergence": Why will AI glasses explode more quickly?
Wu Dezhou: The key lies in that the experience of AI glasses has exceeded the critical point of consumers' acceptance. The current wearing comfort is close to that of ordinary glasses, and users are willing to use them for a long time. At the same time, they can replace some electronic devices in terms of functions - this product logic is established.
For example, with the first - generation products we made before, people might not wear them all the time. As long as users are not willing to wear them, all the scenarios planned later will not hold. If the "1" in front is missing, all the following numbers are "0"s.
I judge that the iteration speed of AI glasses will far exceed expectations. In the next one to two years, there will definitely be a blockbuster product with an annual sales volume of over 20 million, and it is even very likely to exceed the current global sales volume of VR devices. This is a highly certain trend.
"Intelligent Emergence": It seems that Luo Yonghao started his business in the same year as you, and his initial direction was also AR glasses. Your partner has become your competitor. Have you communicated with each other?
Wu Dezhou: In the first half of 2021, I left ByteDance to look for an entrepreneurial direction, and by the end of 2021, the team was established. At that time, Teacher Luo was also preparing to enter this field, and we just had the same idea. For people in the hardware industry, this was the only major trend at that time, and it was a trend suitable for us.
Smartisan Technology also laid out AR glasses at that time. In 2016, Smartisan Technology established a special team of more than 30 people to be responsible for AR glasses, with Luo Zixiong as the person in charge. After I joined, we also made a VR demo machine, but it was not put on the market for sale. So it is normal for us to choose this direction for entrepreneurship.
"Intelligent Emergence": Did the experience at Smartisan Technology help or inspire your entrepreneurship?
Wu Dezhou: From Huawei to the Honor Division and then to Smartisan Technology, it was mainly a change in roles. When I was at Huawei, I was more in the role of a product manager; later, when I was the person in charge of the Honor Division, I paid more attention to products and users.
When I went to Smartisan Technology, my role was different again. There were mainly two changes. One was that I got in touch with more investors and learned how to deal with them; the second was that I had to use relatively limited funds and resources to achieve satisfactory results, which was different from the way of thinking in a large company.
At the same time, Luo Yonghao's spirit of being an extreme product manager who pursues details has had a great influence on me. I think he did a very good job in this regard, but maybe he pursued details a bit too much. So I hope to find a balance between products and the market.
"Intelligent Emergence": Which is more difficult, making mobile phones or making glasses?
Wu Dezhou: Mobile phones are actually very mature, and everyone knows how to make them. It is more about finding some differentiated selling points.
Making glasses is more difficult. For example, AR glasses don't have a fixed paradigm yet. The appearance, target user group, and service scenarios are not fixed. Manufacturers need to find the corresponding scenarios based on their understanding of products and users and make choices about functions according to the scenarios. There are no previous cases to refer to, which places very high requirements on the team.
AI glasses are a little easier than AR glasses. Because RayBan Meta can be regarded as a half - guide, and it has achieved PMF (Product - Market Fit) in the general market. So you can see a lot of people copying the scenarios of RayBan Meta.
Our starting point is different. I think in the future, all mobile phone companies may make smart glasses because glasses are the next - generation interactive entrance and are within the coverage of the main track of mobile phone companies. As a startup, it is very difficult for us to compete with mobile phone companies. So we will choose a more vertical scenario and really penetrate it.
"Intelligent Emergence": Are vertical scenarios more suitable for startups?
Wu Dezhou: Take smart watches as an example. Although Apple and Huawei dominate the mainstream market, in the professional sports field, Garmin is the real leader. It focuses on the sports scenario, and the choices of functions and designs are different. Although Apple has also launched a sports version, professional athletes rarely choose it.
The product logic of Garmin is completely different: for example, it customizes waterproof and decompression algorithms for divers and designs offline trajectory recording and survival flashlights for cross - country runners. These scenario - based, must - have features are the moat of professional equipment.
Apple and Huawei would never add a flashlight to their watches because it is not fashionable. But for professional sports people, the flashlight function is exactly what they need. This gives us an inspiration : the competition in the consumer electronics industry is essentially a competition for the right to define scenarios. Blindly pursuing "big and comprehensive" is not as good as being irreplaceable in key scenarios. The goal of BleeqUp is to become the "Garmin" in the field of smart glasses.
Mobile phone manufacturers have an absolute advantage in making glasses, and vertical scenarios are more suitable for startups
"Intelligent Emergence": What do you think of the currently launched AI glasses? It seems that they haven't heated up the market.
Wu Dezhou: The currently launched AI glasses products are not made by giants, and they may not be the core players in the AI glasses market in the future. There is no precedent for an Internet company to succeed in smart hardware. In my opinion, mobile phone manufacturers are the players most capable of seizing the dividends of the AI glasses era.
I firmly believe that in the general life scenario, glasses will become a personal intelligent assistant. The core of becoming an assistant is that it must be able to access all the permissions of the mobile phone, such as booking air tickets, ordering takeaways, or recording meeting minutes. Suppose it doesn't have enough permissions, then it can only be used for chatting with the glasses, just like a smart speaker. It will become boring after a few conversations.
In the future, a real intelligent assistant will interact with you proactively, just