Young Founder Huang Xiande Steps Onto the Global AI Stage
In Shanghai this July, the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference opened with its usual mix of global leaders, established companies and cutting edge technology displays. Amid the large exhibitions and high profile speeches, one moment stood out for its quiet significance. Twenty three year old Huang Xiande walked onto the stage representing his young company, Hainan Degong Intelligent Technology. The firm had been registered in Hainan less than a year earlier. For many watching, the appearance marked a clear signal that a new generation of founders was ready to claim space on the world stage.
Huang belongs to the first group of international students who entered the Lingshui Li’an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone in Hainan. He came four years ago to study at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. During his time in the pilot zone he formed connections with fellow students who shared his interest in practical technology. He also won recognition in local innovation competitions, including a first prize in the Hainan Free Trade Port Future Elite Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Those early experiences planted the idea of building something of his own.
After graduation the path proved more difficult than expected. Huang and his young team tried to establish themselves in larger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. They faced repeated rejections. Investors and partners often viewed them as too inexperienced, too young, or simply a student group without proven commercial results. The setbacks nearly ended the effort.
An invitation from the Lingshui Li’an pilot zone changed the direction. The zone offered more than encouragement. It provided real application scenarios, early stage funding support under a model that invests first and converts later, and a dedicated service team that helped with business planning and registration. Huang returned. In September 2025 the company was formally established in Hainan.
Degong focused on industrial artificial intelligence rather than general consumer tools. The team set out to create systems that could operate inside complex organisations such as hospitals, campuses and smart parks. One of the first practical products was an intelligent document generation system developed for campus use. It improved office efficiency and later expanded. The company then built the Li’an Shu smart park operating system, which was put into actual use inside the pilot zone. The system combined park management, government services and support for students and faculty, reducing information gaps that had previously existed.
At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference the team presented a more advanced offering, an AIOS all in one desktop computer designed for medical environments. The compact machine occupies less than half a square metre yet consolidates multiple hospital functions. Doctors can use it for data retrieval, medical record handling, report interpretation and research analysis. Patients benefit from triage support, pre diagnosis assistance, follow up care and health management tools. The system also manages hospital level models, application development and computing capacity. Huang described the specialised medical models as more focused than general large models, requiring less computing power, responding faster and fitting more naturally into clinical workflows. The product attracted attention from professionals at the conference for its complete and practical approach to medical artificial intelligence.
Reflecting on the journey, Huang noted that the pilot zone had given the team real resources and mechanisms rather than words alone. He observed that less than a year after registration the company was already standing on the global stage. The appearance at WAIC formed part of a larger pattern visible throughout the event. Young founders in their twenties were presenting working products rather than early concepts, moving artificial intelligence from demonstration into everyday organisational use.
Huang’s path from classroom to international conference in four years illustrates how regional support structures can accelerate new talent. The combination of education, real world testing grounds and targeted funding allowed a student team to convert laboratory ideas into deployable systems. As the conference closed, Degong continued its work in healthcare, education and urban governance, remaining rooted in the Hainan ecosystem that had made the rapid progress possible. The story of this twenty three year old founder added a clear human dimension to the broader discussions of artificial intelligence taking place in Shanghai this July.
