WISE2025 Annual Corporate Release | Build a New Ship Amidst the Waves
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“In a world defined by volatility and ambiguity, the scarcest resources are clarity and certainty.” This judgment from McKinsey in its latest report continues to resonate.
The volatility of the global market has rendered traditional experience ineffective, and the acceleration brought about by the technological revolution has shattered path dependence. The business world seems to have reached a significant “tipping point”: uncertainty is on the rise, yet new orders are quietly emerging.
While most people are still discussing the magnitude of the waves, true navigators have already started “building new ships.”
It can be seen that AI has moved from the laboratory into the depths of industries, becoming a measurable productive force; the manufacturing industry has reshaped its global competitiveness through upgrading and innovation; consumer brands have escaped the involution of traffic and built long - term relationships based on identity; digitalization has penetrated every aspect of operations; and sectors such as cultural content, low - altitude economy, and cross - border services are constantly expanding the boundaries of business.
These trends have converged to give Chinese business a rare “internal stability.” This stability is not the sense of security bestowed by the outside world, but an ecological climate nurtured by enterprises themselves.
Against this backdrop, 36Kr officially released the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual Enterprise Series List.” We focused on ten key directions and systematically sorted out representative enterprises and platforms that have shown outstanding performance in areas such as AI, digitalization, advanced manufacturing, consumer brands, cultural content, low - altitude economy, cross - border services, ecological empowerment, incubation support, and business potential.
We attempted to capture those companies that are rewriting industry logic and promoting the transformation of industrial structure. They are the most explanatory samples in the turbulent cycle and unique business phenomena in this volatile and ambiguous business world.
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Annual AI Application Scenario Breakthrough Enterprises
In the past year, the narrative of the AI industry has quietly shifted from the “technological singularity” to the “industrial singularity.”
The breakthrough of large - scale models is no longer the sole focus. What truly determines the development speed of AI is its penetration mode in the industrial system. From process reengineering in the manufacturing end, load forecasting in the energy end, to auxiliary diagnosis in the medical end and business decision - making in the retail end, the value of AI begins to be measured in terms of efficiency units, cost units, and verifiable results.
In this round of industrialization process, more and more enterprises have shown rare execution ability. They are not satisfied with algorithm optimization but actively enter the depths of scenarios to face the real needs of the industrial front line. It is this strong intervention on the industrial side that has made AI no longer a technology floating in the air but a real and measurable productive force, and a capability curve that can achieve compound growth in the business system.
The enterprises shortlisted this time are the vanguard forces in this wave of AI industrialization. They have proved through large - scale deployment that the value of AI can also lie in making a production line more efficient, a city more intelligent, and a public service more inclusive.
While the world is exploring the business path of artificial intelligence, they have set an example, making China one of the markets with the richest AI application scenarios and the fastest implementation speed globally.
The following are the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual AI Application Scenario Breakthrough Enterprises”:
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Annual Digital Efficiency Improvement Enterprises
The process of digitalization is still accelerating and iterating.
Enterprises' focus has shifted from “whether to digitalize” to “whether digitalization is effective.” They are no longer obsessed with concepts but more concerned about one thing: Has digitalization truly improved the quality of operations? Has it reduced marginal costs? Has it made the organization more flexible?
In this wave, there is a group of digital efficiency practitioners. They are promoting enterprises to move from “process digitalization” to “management digitalization” and then to “operational digitalization.” Whether it is supply chain collaboration, fulfillment efficiency, production scheduling, or financial transparency and organizational collaboration ability, they have enabled enterprises to truly see the compound growth of efficiency in a quantifiable way.
The digital dividend has never disappeared; it has just entered a deeper and more challenging area that tests patience, logic, and systematicness. These enterprises are providing a new efficiency benchmark for Chinese business: Future competition is not about scale but about operational efficiency.
The following are the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual Digital Efficiency Improvement Enterprises”:
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Annual Advanced Manufacturing Benchmark Enterprises
The redefinition of the manufacturing industry is taking place in China.
Chinese manufacturing has completed a directional transformation in the past three years. The improvement of equipment capabilities, the innovation of material systems, the iteration of automated production lines, and the new way of manufacturing organization based on digitalization as the underlying logic have enabled Chinese manufacturing to take solid steps driven by technology and structure.
The strategic significance of advanced manufacturing is particularly prominent at this stage. In a global environment where the supply chain is more vulnerable to disruptions, those who can master key links, core technologies, and stable production capacity will gain greater industrial influence. These shortlisted enterprises have made long - term investments in areas such as self - developed equipment, core component capabilities, process breakthroughs, green manufacturing, and intelligent production, enabling them to have “ballast - level” competitiveness in key fields.
More importantly, they not only manufacture products but also export standards, systems, and industrial capabilities. Their supply chain response speed, production organization ability, and global delivery ability have made China no longer just a “production factory” but gradually evolved into a key node in the global industrial system.
The following are the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual Advanced Manufacturing Benchmark Enterprises”:
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Annual Consumer Brand Value Resonance Enterprises
Changes in the consumer market often become apparent earlier than the economic cycle. Undoubtedly, with the return of rationality, current consumer decision - making has shifted from instant stimulation to continuous identity.
In reality, the single function of brand products no longer constitutes a decisive difference. What truly influences choices is the value coordinates represented by the brand: whether it is in sync with contemporary consumers' lifestyles, emotional orientations, and long - term expectations.
In this round of evolution, brand competition has shifted from “exposure - driven” to “value - driven.” Product strength is still important but is no longer a sufficient condition; elements such as cultural expression, experience design, community relationships, and trust structures are jointly forming the core framework of brand assets. Consumers are not becoming more difficult to please; they are becoming more discerning. The judgment behind their purchasing behavior is closer to “what they believe in” than “what they like.”
From this year's consumer sector, it can be seen that the brands with the most growth resilience often share a common feature: they can maintain the stability of their value propositions in a rapidly changing environment. Regardless of how channels diversify or traffic fluctuates, their growth is based on a consistent long - term narrative. This brand power is not the result of marketing but a compound structure precipitated by cultural identity, product experience, and organizational ability.
After the consumer market enters a new stage, the moat of a brand is no longer price difference, advertising volume, or short - term explosion, but a deeper psychological connection, a “value resonance” that can transcend cycles, penetrate noise, and possess long - term energy.
Some enterprises have already found this new type of competitiveness: they have brought the brand back to its essence and growth back to value.
The following are the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual Consumer Brand Value Resonance Enterprises”
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Annual Cross - border Service Globalization Enterprises
The global business is undergoing a reshuffle. The regionalization of the supply chain, the differentiation of local markets, and the complexity of regulatory systems mean that “going global” no longer simply means shipping products overseas but requires maintaining efficiency, compliance, and continuous growth in a diverse system.
Therefore, Chinese cross - border service enterprises are demonstrating new capabilities: starting with infrastructure, bounded by the business system, and verified by local capabilities. Elements such as cross - border logistics, digital marketing, compliance risk control, payment systems, brand services, and cloud services are being systematically integrated, enabling enterprises to find stable operating models in the business ecosystems of different countries.
The difficulty of globalization has never decreased, but the solutions are changing. The advantage no longer comes from a single cost factor but from the ability to manage complexity. This is the scarcest competitiveness in the changing global economic situation and the next paradigm that Chinese enterprises need to embrace when going global.
The following are the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual Cross - border Service Globalization Enterprises”:
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Annual Cultural Content Innovation Enterprises
The redistribution of the right to express in society has become the background for the changes in the cultural content sector.
When short - form content, long - form content, interactive content, and virtual content coexist, content is no longer just the product of the media industry but has become a social behavior: people use it to confirm themselves, build connections, express their positions, and even reshape their sense of belonging. Therefore, cultural production has deviated from the traditional “creation - dissemination” chain and shifted towards something closer to “the reorganization of emotions and cognition.”
In such an environment, truly innovative enterprises are not measured by the number of works or defined by technological wonders. Their common feature is the ability to capture unformed vocabularies in the cultural flow: finding new narrative methods in the emotions of the younger generation; establishing expression structures in the migration of group aesthetics; and redefining what content is in the possibilities provided by technology.
Their innovation is not about creating a certain format or type of content but about changing the working logic of content. Driven by these enterprises, culture no longer depends on dissemination channels but has the ability to grow structurally. Content is no longer just a link in the industrial chain but a way to understand society, emotions, and the era.
The significance of the survival and development of these enterprises lies in this: they have broadened the boundaries of content and culture and also broadened our way of understanding the world.
The following are the “WISE2025 Business Kings Annual Cultural Content Innovation Enterprises”:
