36Kr Exclusive Interview | The Next Stop for Wang Teng, Former Xiaomi Executive: Starting from Sleep, Seizing the Once-in-a-Decade Entrepreneurship Window in AI Hardware
Author: Ou Xue
Editor: Yuan Silai
Wang Teng, the founder of Today Is a Good Day to Rest, feels very lucky that he caught up with the best time for AI hardware entrepreneurship at the age of 39.
For many years in the past, Wang Teng's schedule was divided into hourly segments, and every day seemed to be in a state of combat readiness. When this stage of his career came to an end, most people chose to take a rest. But Wang Teng didn't stop.
When he first left his job, Wang Teng wasn't sure where he was going next after more than a decade in the consumer electronics industry. He met with investors and old friends intensively and gradually found that he was at a fleeting turning point. "This is a once - in - a - decade window of opportunity for AI hardware entrepreneurship," Wang Teng told Hard Krypton.
After more than half a month of high - intensity communication, Wang Teng immediately started preparing for hardware entrepreneurship. He studied AI glasses and new energy vehicles but finally entered the "sleep" track where he seemingly had no experience accumulation.
Although he has a halo around him, Wang Teng can't escape the hardships of entrepreneurship. He has to persuade his friends with stable and high incomes to join a startup company willingly. He has also encountered the coldness of the supply chain and the rather impolite doubts of investors.
Except for a few initial moments, Wang Teng has come to terms with this gap.
Different from many young founders, he is quite sophisticated. Wang Teng assembled the core team in just a few months, conceived the short -, medium - and long - term product matrix and rhythm plan. He told Hard Krypton that he defined Today Is a Good Day to Rest as an "energy asset management ecosystem" company focusing on sleep - a rather grand concept.
The market is just as Wang Teng judged, in a season of abundant resources. Hard Krypton exclusively learned that after the first - round financing of Today Is a Good Day to Rest was boosted by Hillhouse Capital and Zhipu AI, it quickly locked in a new round of financing, with old shareholders continuing to increase their investment, and the cumulative financing scale exceeded 100 million yuan.
In Wang Teng's view, in the past, the wearable devices of large manufacturers could tell users how their sleep quality was last night, but they couldn't provide solutions; traditional home furnishing brands make mattresses and pillows, each sticking to its own niche and unable to cross the category boundaries. He hopes to provide users with a closed - loop service from monitoring to intervention after integrating software and hardware.
According to Wang Teng's plan, Today Is a Good Day to Rest will launch relevant different hardware products one after another in 2 - 3 years. AI algorithms and APPs will run on the upper layer, and the underlying hardware IoT devices will be integrated.
In the interview, we can clearly feel Wang Teng's sense of urgency. He has been in the mobile phone industry for more than a decade and knows better than anyone how cruel the survival battle of hardware products is. Once the production line starts, there is no turning back. Only after passing through the "capacity hell" can a hardware company truly cross the dangerous shoals.
It can be said that for a startup company based on hardware, the success or failure of the first product may determine its future fate.
Wang Teng is not an arrogant and blindly optimistic person. In the two - hour communication, we can feel his sincerity. The most common thing Wang Teng says is, "We are still in the early stage, and there are many things I can't answer at present." Obviously, he knows his advantages but won't deny his ability boundaries.
The following is the content of the conversation between Hard Krypton and Wang Teng, edited:
Entrepreneurship at the Best Time of Life
Hard Krypton: After you left Xiaomi, did you really take a break for some time? What did you do during this period?
Wang Teng: Yes, for about half a month to a month. I mainly had meals, chats and catch - ups with different friends.
Hard Krypton: When did you start to have the idea of starting a new company? How did you think about it at that time?
Wang Teng: I probably decided on the direction between October and December last year (2025). After I left Xiaomi, some companies were looking for me, and I also met several investor friends. We chatted and discussed some direction - related issues.
There are mainly two aspects: First, after talking with many large manufacturers, I felt that there wasn't much challenge because it was basically similar to what I did at Xiaomi before; Second, in the current AI wave, the entrepreneurship of AI intelligent hardware is a once - in - a - decade window of opportunity. I originally wanted to take a rest for a while, but considering the development of the industry, this time point is very suitable for entrepreneurship. So in late October, I decided to try entrepreneurship on my own. It took me more than a month to two months, until November and December, to finalize the current direction.
Hard Krypton: What was the real opportunity that made you decide on the "sleep + big health" direction? What needs did you see?
Wang Teng: First, in the era of AI, intelligent hardware is in a wave of major upgrades. Second, when choosing a specific industry, I had several major ideas: Try not to touch traditional industries and the tracks that large manufacturers are already competing in, such as mobile phones and new energy vehicles, which are already in a state of full competition and saturation; look for tracks with continuous future growth. In addition, in this track, the existing players are either large manufacturers but it's not their main battlefield, or startup teams or traditional brands, and they don't have particularly deep accumulation and first - mover advantages in this wave of AI intelligent hardware. Everyone is basically on the same starting line.
Hard Krypton: So how did you come up with the idea of the sleep track?
Wang Teng: Considering these points, I ruled out mobile phones, cars and home appliances. Later, after communicating with friends in various industries, I thought the "sleep + big health" direction was quite good.
On the one hand, as people's living standards continue to improve, the attention and consumption investment in this area will be higher and higher, and the future growth potential of the track is very good. On the other hand, health and sleep are very complex systematic projects, involving many dimensions, and there are many product angles to cut in.
Although there are many players in this field, large manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi mainly focus on health monitoring products and don't do much in terms of intervention and improvement; traditional health or home furnishing brands have been deeply involved in their own niches for many years, but their expandability is relatively weak. Moreover, in the wave of AI, the innovation and vitality of these enterprises in transformation and development may be inferior to that of our startup company. So I think this is a very good opportunity.
Hard Krypton: You mentioned that you met many investors. Did one or two of them particularly impress you?
Wang Teng: At the end of September and in October, I talked with an investor friend. At that time, I had other direction options and asked for their opinions. The response and advice I got were that with the maturity of AI large models, intelligent hardware is definitely a major track and a hot spot. This helped me decide to start a business and choose the direction related to ToC intelligent hardware.
Hard Krypton: Your background is related to mobile phones and consumer electronics. Do you think your past experience is wasted when you choose the sleep track now?
Wang Teng: No. My experience in the past more than 10 years can be divided into several aspects: First, related to products, I understand user needs, the industry, competitors, do product definition, evaluate feasibility, cost, R & D time, etc. These can be well transferred here because we are still doing ToC consumer hardware, and the complexity of these products is a bit lower than that of mobile phones, so I'm more confident that we can succeed.
Second, in terms of market sales and operation, the future marketing, sales and channel layout of these ToC products can also be well matched. I told investors that the experience I accumulated in the mobile phone industry is still quite competitive compared with other industries.
The Hardest Part of Starting a Business Is "Finding People"
Hard Krypton: This is your first time starting a business. What are the special differences between working in a large manufacturer and starting your own business for the first time?
Wang Teng: There are definitely many differences. In entrepreneurship, you have to do all kinds of hard, dirty and tiring work by yourself. In a large manufacturer before, you only needed to put forward requirements, and there would be a very powerful support team to help you. For example, business registration, finding people, negotiating financing, and even renting an office space, all have to be done personally. I've also stepped on many pits that I've never encountered before.
Hard Krypton: What is the most difficult aspect for you in entrepreneurship?
Wang Teng: From a business perspective, the most difficult thing is finding people. Although I'm quite well - known in the tech circle, even so, it's been a long process of talking to many people and being rejected many times when finding people for the startup. Each rejection is a huge psychological blow, but it's also a matter of tempering one's mind - being constantly rejected and beaten, then self - repairing and starting again. It's quite interesting.
Hard Krypton: What are your criteria for screening core team members?
Wang Teng: For the first seven or eight people I found, the criteria are: First, they have worked on successful projects in large manufacturers, with proven performance and job levels. This is the ability dimension; Second, from a psychological perspective, they can accept the way of low monthly salary and high equity. These two points are combined.
Hard Krypton: Do people have psychological concerns when you're looking for partners?
Wang Teng: Definitely. Everyone is risk - averse. The success rate of entrepreneurship is relatively low. We require a low - cash and high - equity way, and many people reject it due to risk considerations. Moreover, large manufacturers offer good conditions today. The key talents we want to recruit are also in important positions in large manufacturers, with good incomes and platforms. They have more concerns about our newly - established team.
Hard Krypton: How did you persuade the people in the team to join you in the sleep track?
Wang Teng: First, I explained the big picture: This era is a once - in - a - lifetime golden window of opportunity. Most of the core leaders I'm looking for are about the same age as me. We have all accumulated rich experience, developed many good products, and have a mature understanding of product development and business. I told them a few points:
First, the opportunity is here. If we continue to work in large manufacturers, the growth potential is predictable and there won't be a huge leap. After more than a decade of work experience, it's time to try entrepreneurship at the best time of our lives. Second, this is ToC consumer hardware. If we can succeed in about three to five years, we'll achieve good results; if not, with our level, we can still find a job in a large manufacturer.
I told them, "Follow Brother Teng. The capital market still recognizes us, and we have enough cash to start the business; the supply chain and industrial resources are also okay, and people are willing to support us in the early stage."
The overall combat effectiveness of our team is very strong. After the first few people joined, they thought it was reliable when they saw each other, and it became a positive cycle. The products we make will be relatively competitive. Finally, I'm probably the founder who understands the market best among the current startup teams, and we have a better chance of achieving business success.
Hard Krypton: As the founder, what main work content do you focus on?
Wang Teng: In the early stage, I spent more energy on team building, product polishing and financing; after the team is built, I'll spend more energy on sleep health research, user insight and software and hardware product definition. Before the product is launched, I'll increase the investment in the market and sales end.
In other aspects, as long as the core leaders of the hardware, software, algorithm and APP teams are capable, we'll align our understanding and key milestone nodes at each stage.
Targeting the "High - Education, High - Income, High - Pressure" Group
Hard Krypton: The term "energy asset" was used in the business plan, which is quite rare. How did you come up with this term?
Wang Teng: I think for a startup company, the founder and the core team should preferably be the core target users. Take me as an example. I used to have a very high - intensity work schedule. For core middle and senior executives, it was normal to get off work at 10 p.m., and there was also overtime on holidays. When the work density is high in a day, if you didn't rest well the previous day, your whole state will be very poor.
I came up with this term when thinking about the entrepreneurial direction. In first -, second - and even third - tier cities today, there are a large number of white - collar workers in the workplace. They are the post - 80s and post - 90s who have received higher education, and in the future, the post - 00s will also face such challenges. Around the age of 30, this group of people, as we later summarized, are the "three - high group": high education, high income and high pressure. After 3 - 5 years of work, they have a certain amount of accumulation, but at the same time, they face various pressures such as starting a family, getting married, career promotion and buying a house. One or two abnormal indicators may start to appear in their physical examinations. This is the first high - point of people's concern about health.
If we can provide products and services based on scientific methodologies and combined with personal physical health, we have a chance to impress these people. Moreover, in the AI era, the capabilities of large models are very strong. As long as we have a deeper understanding of users, we can make good use of these data.
Hard Krypton: What time do you go to bed now? How is your sleep quality?
Wang Teng: Now I usually go to bed around 12 o'clock and can sleep until 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning. When I sleep well, I can sleep for 8 hours, usually 7 hours. My average Oura score is a little over 80, which is okay. After starting this business, I've read many books related to sleep and know what small improvements I can make to improve my sleep quality. It should be quite good for an adult to sleep for more than 7 hours.
Hard Krypton: The popularity of common sleep products in the market is relatively low. What do you think the difficulties are?
Wang Teng: The biggest difficulty is that the value provided by a single product to users and its ability to solve pain points are relatively weak. It's not like a mobile phone, which can solve communication and entertainment problems once you buy it. In the health dimension, the number of users with specific needs is relatively small in the overall sample, and the value provided is also relatively limited, so there is no real synergy and explosion point. For example, a ring tells you that you didn't sleep well yesterday, but it can't provide a specific solution - this is the biggest pain point in the sleep health field.