According to reports from Intelligent Emergence, Ren Lifeng, the early product manager of Douyin and former vice president of ByteDance PICO (also known by the nickname "Juan Juan"), has recently completed a Pre-A round financing of tens of millions of dollars for his startup "Shumei Wanyi". This round was led by Meituan Longzhu, with Jinqiu Fund participating, and existing shareholders Sequoia China and IDG Capital continuing their support. Following this financing, the company's valuation is approximately $150 million.
Shumei Wanyi was established recently but has developed rapidly. In February 2024, shortly after its founding, it received investment from Sequoia China and IDG. This financing lays the foundation for Shumei Wanyi to further expand its creative e-commerce community.
It is understood that the core platform under Shumei Wanyi, Hitems, aims to commercialize creative products through generative AI (GenAI) technology, providing a full-chain service from creation to production and consumption. Hitems is a cross-border e-commerce platform that combines creators' ideas with the platform's technological advantages to drive the commercialization process.
In the creative generation phase, users can generate high-fidelity product images using GenAI technology by providing keywords, images, or hand-drawn sketches. During the production phase, Hitems utilizes its self-developed AI 3D modeling technology and a mature supply chain system to turn creators' ideas into actual products. In the consumption phase, Hitems not only offers transaction services but also creates an interactive community for users to share, browse, and engage.
As a member of the founding "Seven-person Group" of Douyin, Ren Lifeng has accumulated extensive experience in the internet industry. After joining ByteDance from Baidu Tieba, he led the cold start of Douyin and restructured its vertical categories, dividing tags into over 300 subcategories, a decision considered key to Douyin's rise.
In 2020, Ren Lifeng was transferred to Xigua Video, where he served as the executive director of Weishi and vice president of PICO, gaining comprehensive management experience in both short and long videos, community operations, and hardware products. This experience enables him to accurately grasp user needs and market trends when founding Shumei Wanyi, thanks to his keen market insights and management expertise.
With AI technology gradually maturing and achieving large-scale commercialization, creative e-commerce and AI applications have become popular entrepreneurial fields. Hitems is based on a mature e-commerce and community model, combining AI and 3D technology to provide a new business model.
