When DeepSeek tore open the iron curtain of the global large-model AI landscape with its "three-pronged strategy" of high performance, strong open-source capability, and low cost, and when its founder Liang Wenfeng—an entrepreneur from the Zhejiang University (ZJU) community—reshaped the global AI ecosystem through original technologies, he demonstrated an extreme focus on the essence of technology and rebuilt industry ecology with an open and inclusive vision. This resolve, rooted in fundamental research and driven by the courage to break new ground, is a collective embodiment of the ZJU entrepreneurs' spirit of "Qiushi and Innovation"—seek truth and be creative.
On January 3, 2026, at the 11th Zhejiang University Alumni New Year Forum, Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek and a ZJU alumnus, was named Zhejiang University Alumnus Entrepreneur of the Year 2025. The announcement of Zhejiang University's inaugural "Qiushi Golden Eagle Award" soon followed, bringing to the forefront more ZJU-affiliated enterprises that carry this same spirit. Ten companies—Kingwills Advanced Materials, LogicBit, Qianxun Intelligence, Diwei-2, TuoXi Technology, Jindie Spacetime, Differential Intelligence Flight, Qiongche Intelligence, Zhihe Computing, and Deep Principle—proved with hard-core capabilities that a new generation of entrepreneurs bearing the "ZJU gene" is embracing long-termism, weathering cycles, and building a moat for China's indigenous innovation in the hard-tech arena.
As an annual flagship award of the ZJU Alumni New Year Forum, the Qiushi Golden Eagle Award is far more than an honorary accolade. It is positioned as a bellwether for the future "Six Little Dragons" of the ZJU ecosystem—identifying benchmark enterprises that best represent ZJU students' entrepreneurial spirit, technological innovation capabilities, and the direction of future industries.
"Do the right things, and do things right." Duan Yongping's interpretation of the ZJU "Qiushi" spirit has been vividly manifested in generations of alumni entrepreneurs.
Ren Shaobo, Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang University Committee, summarizes this spirit as "a high degree of focus and specialization, idealism in the pursuit of technological excellence, and perseverance in aspirations that transcend short-term utilitarianism." This, precisely, is the core code enabling ZJU-affiliated enterprises to traverse cycles and lead in hard-tech frontiers.
This spiritual legacy takes tangible form in the technological matrix of the ten Qiushi Golden Eagle Award recipients:
In embodied intelligence, Differential Intelligence Flight breaks satellite-dependency constraints through a fully self-developed AI + aerial vehicle platform, while Qianxun Intelligence and Qiongche Intelligence expand technological boundaries from the perspectives of humanoid robotics and embodied foundation models.
On the semiconductor front, LogicBit has set global records for superconducting quantum chips three times, while Jindie Spacetime and Zhihe Computing cultivate China's CPU ecosystem through deep engagement with the RISC-V architecture.
In advanced materials, TuoXi Technology fills a gap in high-end optical polymers, and Kingwills Advanced Materials breaks monopolies in the field of metamaterials, enabling applications across nearly one hundred domains.
The shared full-stack capability of these companies is the concrete industrial expression of the Qiushi spirit—going beyond single-point technological breakthroughs to tackle the core challenges of the real world.
Among the Qiushi Golden Eagle Award recipients, the breakthrough journey of Kingwills Advanced Materials is a vivid illustration of ZJU's "Qiushi Innovation." Its CEO, Eric Chen, holds an honorary degree from the Advanced Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management Program of the Chu Kochen Honors College at Zhejiang University and a background in Chemical Engineering and Technology. The core team—including CFO Wu Wentao and CTO Ye Kongmeng—are all ZJU alumni.
"If we want to secure the initiative over the next 20 years, we must enter new tracks with high barriers, long cycles, and limited global competition." This strategic principle was set by Eric Chen, Chairman and Founder of Kingwills Advanced Materials.
With the determination of "having what others do not," the team prepared for a long-term journey—five years without revenue and ten years without profit. This perseverance ultimately paid off. The independently developed Hypak™ metamaterial achieved end-to-end autonomy from R&D to production, filling a domestic gap in one stroke. With its seemingly contradictory yet superior combination of antibacterial properties, waterproofness, breathability, lightweight strength, and 100% green, recyclable sustainability, Hypak™ metamaterials are now widely applied across nearly one hundred fields, including medical care, semiconductors, protective equipment, and construction.
As a national-level "Little Giant" enterprise specializing in niche and advanced technologies and a designated undertaking unit for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Unveiling the List and Taking the Lead" program, Kingwills Advanced Materials represents not only a commercial breakthrough but also a national responsibility for supply-chain autonomy.
Amid global supply-chain restructuring, the scaled mass production of Hypak™ metamaterials offers a "Chinese solution" for the supply of critical materials in key sectors. The completion of its Series C financing further validates capital market recognition of this "difficult but right" endeavor, injecting sustained momentum into the company's deep cultivation of advanced materials.
Data from the Blue Book of the ZJU Alumni Economy testifies to the power of this spiritual legacy. As of April 2025, ZJU alumni manage or control 327 listed companies, 33 unicorns, and 337 future unicorns, spanning hard-tech fields such as information technology, high-end manufacturing, and biomedicine. The establishment of the Qiushi Golden Eagle Award aims precisely to discover more benchmark enterprises like Kingwills Advanced Materials, set a compass for the future "Six Little Dragons" of ZJU, and promote deep integration of industry, academia, and research.
For Kingwills Advanced Materials, winning the Qiushi Golden Eagle Award is both recognition and a new beginning. Looking ahead, we will continue to take Qiushi as our soul and innovation as our blade, persistently cultivating the high-end new materials arena, and empowering "Made-in-China Intelligence" to move toward the global high end with fully autonomous and controllable technologies and products—writing more entrepreneurial chapters that are "difficult but right."
And the hard-core entrepreneurial stories of the ZJU ecosystem will continue to shine through the steadfast dedication of generation after generation of Qiushi practitioners.
Kingwills International Limited
Kingwills International Limited
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