In this episode of Asia Tech Lens: Founder Stories, we sit down with Guo Jun, Co-Founder of Superhexa — a Beijing-based startup taking one of the boldest approaches in China’s AI hardware boom.
Superhexa is betting on an idea most of the industry got wrong.
More than 100 Chinese companies have rushed to launch AI glasses in the past 18 months — but most of those devices are too heavy, too hot, have weak battery life, or rely on AI features that don’t match how people actually use glasses.
Guo Jun argues the problem isn’t AI at all.
The real problem is the glasses.
Instead of starting with AI hype, Superhexa spent years perfecting the fundamentals: comfort, weight, all-day battery life, and audio quality. Only once the hardware felt natural — something people could actually wear all day — did they bring AI into the product.
And they had to do all of this while navigating China’s most unforgiving consumer market: the Xiaomi ecosystem’s expectations, ODM economics, brutal price competition, creator-driven demand on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, and the constant pressure of competing with giants like OPPO, Vivo, and Huawei.
Hosted by Miro Lu, this conversation explores what it takes to survive as a hardware startup in China — where burn rates spike quickly, margins disappear overnight, and one wrong product decision can end the company.
💡What You’ll Hear About
Why most AI glasses fail — and why users won’t wear them
Superhexa’s “subtraction strategy” and audio-first approach
Navigating Xiaomi’s ecosystem, approvals, and expectations
Building 11–12 hours of real battery life
Domestic LLMs vs ChatGPT (and how Superhexa stays model-agnostic)
Why phones still beat glasses for most “AI scenarios”
Competing in China’s hyper-competitive electronics market
Lessons from ODM work, branding battles, and supply-chain realities
High R&D spend, cash pressure, and near-failure moments
The long-term vision for AI wearables — beyond glasses
⏱️ In This Episode
00:00 – “Wrong decision”: the painful origin
01:00 – Entering the Xiaomi ecosystem
01:42 – What is Superhexa?
02:00 – ODM for Xiaomi vs building Jiehuan
03:40 – 100+ companies chasing AI glasses
04:20 – Why most AI glasses fail
05:30 – The subtraction strategy
06:24 – Streamlining the Product: Feature Reductions as Strategy
07:30 – Domestic LLMs vs ChatGPT
09:40 – Why phones still win
11:50 – Achieving all-day battery life
14:00 – The bigger AI wearables vision
15:30 – Hardware economics for startups
17:00 – Competing with giants
20:40 – China’s consumer electronics intensity
22:28 – Global Expansion and China’s Supply Chain Advantage
24:20 – Kickstarter / Indiegogo
25:30 – Douyin & Xiaohongshu marketing
27:00 – Bilibili for tech credibility
31:40 – Branding vs product
32:02 – Decision Making in Startup Culture
34:40 – Surviving as a small team
36:00 – Why they skipped visual AR
37:47 – Your journey from Xiaomi to Superhexa
39:10 – Investor landscape
42:12 – Superhexa’s Financing Journey
46:00 – What founders underestimate in hardware
47:47 – 996, 007 and Juan Culture in Chinese Business
47:47 – Attracting and Keeping Talents
56:00 – What’s next for Superhexa
📚 References
🎧 Companies / Brands
Superhexa – https://www.superhexa.com
Jiehuan (Superhexa’s in-house brand)
Xiaomi – https://www.mi.com
OPPO – https://www.oppo.com
Vivo – https://www.vivo.com
Huawei – https://www.huawei.com
Luxshare Precision – https://www.luxshare-ict.com
Zeiss – https://www.zeiss.com
Thunderbird Innovation – https://rayneo.cn/
Ray-Ban Meta – https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/ray-ban/
🥽 Products / Categories
AI Glasses – https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/
Audio Glasses – https://www.superhexa.com
Vision Pro – https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro
TWS Earbuds / VR–AR Glasses / AI Wearables
🤖 AI Models & Platforms
Xiao Ai – https://www.mi.com
ChatGPT – https://openai.com/chatgpt
Domestic Chinese LLMs
🛍️ Crowdfunding
Kickstarter – https://www.kickstarter.com
Indiegogo – https://www.indiegogo.com
🌐 Content & Social
bilibili – https://www.bilibili.com
Douyin – https://www.douyin.com
Xiaohongshu – https://www.xiaohongshu.com
💰 Investors
ZhenFund – https://www.zhenfund.com
Yunqi Partners – https://www.yunqi.vc
Qiming – https://www.qimingvc.com
CCV – https://www.ccvcap.com
Chuangshi Partners – https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/china-creation-ventures
🎙️ About Asia Tech Lens
Produced by Perspective Media (Singapore), Asia Tech Lens explores the technology, trends, and people shaping Asia’s innovation landscape — and its global impact.
For enquiries about:
sponsorships or collaboration: partnerships@asiatechlens.com
media or permissions: editor@asiatechlens.com
This episode was recorded in Mandarin. The video version includes full English subtitles.
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