Screens cause eye strain, pen and paper are disconnected from the daily writing scenario: LumiPen rewrites the writing chain
Pen and paper are gradually fading out of daily use. Public industry research reports show that the market size of traditional writing carriers has shrunk by about 47% in five years, yet the demand for writing itself has not disappeared — it has only migrated to screens, bringing along corresponding costs: 89% of parents keep a close watch on their children's screen usage time, pop-ups and message streams interrupt thinking at any moment, and pure electronic records only retain final results while discarding the thinking trajectories of pauses, revisions, and starting over from scratch.
The solution of Lumi Isle Intelligent Connection (Changchun) Technology Co., Ltd. is an AI stylus without any screen: users can still write on paper as usual, the handwriting is synchronized to the mobile phone in real time, the on-device AI recognizes content while writing, notes are automatically organized into structured formats, and a concentration report can also be generated. 36Kr has learned that LumiPen has completed the iteration of its 3.0 version, and the company is launching its second round of financing, planning to raise 10 million RMB in exchange for 10% equity, with a pre-money valuation of 100 million RMB, and the transaction is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The demand has not disappeared, only the "process" has been missed
Founder Feng Chen's judgment is straightforward: users do not lack a new screen, what they lack is a way to connect their pen-and-paper habits to AI. He holds a master's degree in computer science from Northern Arizona University, is currently pursuing a doctorate in organizational leadership at Shenandoah University in the United States, and once served as the head of PMO for BOE East China, launching the LumiPen project in January 2026. Contrary to the path of most AI hardware products, this stylus does not require users to change their habits — children continue to write on paper, teachers continue to collect paper compositions, and the AI works in the background without occupying users' attention.
The market window is also opening. According to public industry research data, the global digital pen market is expected to grow from 3.58 billion USD in 2024 to 13.2 billion USD in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 24.3%; the market size of AI writing devices has increased by about 360% compared with 2021; combined with national subsidy policies, this category is entering an acceleration period. The team sums up its positioning in one sentence: more eye-friendly than tablets, smarter than traditional pens.
9.2mm pen body that accommodates the complete writing link
The pen body is 9.2mm thick, with four core processes running inside: the coded dot-matrix paper positions every stroke, the pen end samples with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, the on-device AI collaborates with the cloud to complete recognition (with a 98% OCR recognition rate) and synchronizes data in real time, and the APP structures the handwriting into searchable notes, which can further generate mind maps and handwriting concentration reports; the chain can be extended backwards to cover teachers' error question analysis, parents' informed reports, and three-level management for classes, teachers and schools, with an open SDK available to the public.
These capabilities are built on three layers of self-developed technologies: dot matrix coding, on-device AI inference, and cloud collaboration algorithm. The cost reduction route is divided into three steps: in 0 to 2 months, realize direct connection between the APP and mass-produced pens; in 3 to 6 months, replace chips with self-developed firmware and adopt domestic MCU and SoC; in 6 to 12 months, realize full-link independent R&D of hardware, so that material and manufacturing costs will gradually decrease with the expansion of scale. The team members come from BOE's delivery and supply chain system, Sense Time's cultural tourism project operation, AI and human-computer interaction research fields, as well as the design background of Macau University of Science and Technology, with a professor from Xiamen University serving as academic consultant, giving equal weight to industrial resources and research capabilities.
Apart from centralized procurement in schools, there are five market gaps to tap
The track is not empty, but the market pattern has not yet been solidified: the penetration rate of K12 dot matrix pens is only 9.2%, and leading players are focusing on school centralized procurement and full-subject homework scenarios. LumiPen does not compete head-on with them, but cuts into the market from five gaps: the rigid demand for pen refills and composition paper in exam scenarios; value upgrading from a pure tool to a product that "understands the learning process"; the closed-loop gap between calligraphy practice data and personalized learning status; consumable repurchase brought by calligraphy practice notebooks and composition paper; and emotional consumption brought by cultural and creative postcards.
Pricing is the other half of the strategy: starting at 499 RMB, it turns AI writing from a novelty product into an affordable daily tool. This is not a volume-for-subsidy model, but a structural cost advantage brought by independent R&D.
B-end business sustains the company, and cultural tourism scenarios verify payment willingness first
The commercialization model is supported by three pillars: the B-end business provides education solutions and corporate gift customization services for schools, education bureaus, government and enterprises, which forms the basic market base; the education business cuts into the learning status closed loop of K12 students and postgraduate/civil service exam takers starting from calligraphy practice, which is the long-term main track; the cultural tourism business adopts the postcard path of "handwriting - AI generation - physical delivery", which has completed scenario verification in Harbin Ice and Snow World, and the revenue in 2026 is still dominated by B-end business. In terms of channels, it covers Taobao, Xiaohongshu and Douyin online, and settles in Xinhua Bookstore, D.Phone and China Unicom business halls offline, and has been selected into the gift procurement library of China Mobile and China Unicom; the cooperation with NetEase Enterprise adopts an asset-light model of exclusive channels, no advance capital, no stock stocking and no inventory pressure.
The implementation pace has accelerated significantly this year: after the global launch of the product, it has been successively selected as a Baidu ecological partner, a ByteDance incubator platform project, and a NVIDIA accelerator project, signed a cooperation with Xi'an national treasure IP "Qin Hanhan", and reached strategic cooperation with Jilin Branch of China Unicom and Changchun Branch of China Unicom; from August to September, as a member of the China Joint Exhibition Booth, it participated in the BCM Exhibition in Busan, South Korea, LumiPen was presented as an official conference gift to the mayor of Busan, and its AI and display capabilities have been deployed in more than 30 offline stores of the "Go Up the Hill for Tea" brand. In 2026, nearly 6 million RMB of contracts have been signed, with the annual revenue target exceeding 10 million RMB; the 2027 target is 28 million RMB to achieve break-even, 68 million RMB in 2028, 150 million RMB in 2029, and the overseas market will give priority to breaking through the Japanese market. This round of financing will be allocated as 40% for R&D, 30% for promotion, 20% for the team, and 10% for the supply chain.
Setting up the company in Changchun is not a compromise for low cost: Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and enterprises affiliated to the Changguang system form a complete optoelectronic industrial chain, with complete local supporting resources of terminal patents covering MicroLED display, eye tracking, screen-shaped robot interaction and other fields. Feng Chen summarizes this relationship as "the registered location is a resource, not a burden" — AI hardware should not force users to change their habits, but add value in familiar scenarios, so that writing can continue to be meaningful in the digital era.