"DIY Economy" Goes Viral! Some People Complete Five Rounds of Financing in One Year

AI · How can ordinary people turn their DIY creativity into successful startup projects?

This year’s government work report proposed to create new forms of intelligent economy and cultivate new native intelligent industries. The core is to lower the barriers to entrepreneurship, making it easy for ordinary people to innovate and boldly start businesses.

Currently, a “DIY economy” is emerging. How can ordinary people turn their novel ideas and a pair of skilled hands into “startup projects” from “handmade crafts”?

Zhou Mingxuan is a mechanical craft creator. Walking into his studio in Suzhou, Jiangsu, feels like entering a cyberpunk-style dream factory: flexible mechanical tails, walking mechanical chairs, and various mechanical centipedes and dogs…

△Walking Mechanical Chair

Zhou Mingxuan often posts his “DIY” works on social media. Many requests come through his videos. He didn’t expect that the strange creations he made would be so popular, with orders booked into the second half of the year.

In his studio, a mechanical arm over two meters tall stands out. It was a hardcore toy Zhou Mingxuan made for his son more than ten years ago in his 7-square-meter room.

Zhou Mingxuan said that back then he rode around looking for parts; if he couldn’t find them, he made them himself. Now, Huaqiangbei can almost meet all needs. “As long as you specify your requirements, there’s almost nothing you can’t buy, and the cost is halved.”

From running around electronic markets in the past to now ordering and customizing at your fingertips, China’s complete supply chain has significantly lowered the barriers to DIY entrepreneurship. With industry support, Zhou Mingxuan’s entrepreneurial focus has boldly shifted from “interesting” to “practical.”

He is now working on an agricultural machinery product, a “flexible spray device” that can be used in farming.

Zhou Mingxuan’s story is not unique. The convenient entrepreneurial environment and open, inclusive attitude allow more young people to boldly “DIY” and forge new futures.

Li Yinghao, a post-2000s young man from Chengdu, Sichuan, who studied aircraft electromechanics, had a dream when he entered university: to build his own airplane by hand.

Making an airplane by “DIY” is not easy. He spent a whole year just on the wings. From conceptual design, drawing, material selection, to cutting parts, riveting, assembly, and wiring… The school saw his perseverance and fully supported him.

After three years, Li Yinghao’s airplane was finally completed. To his surprise, it received the Southwest Region’s first special airworthiness certificate for experimental civil aircraft. The broad prospects of low-altitude economy also helped him quickly form a team and start developing a “second-generation aircraft” after graduation.

In the embodied intelligence track, U.S.-educated PhD Hu Yuhang redefines human-computer interaction through “DIY.” He created a super bionic robot “Emo” with delicate skin and expressive movements. Just a video of it garnered over ten million views and attracted attention from Hangzhou government and major tech companies. Hu Yuhang transitioned from a “DIY” blogger to founding a company, completing five rounds of financing within a year.

Today, the “DIY economy” is giving rise to a new business model: OPC single-person companies. Over 20 cities nationwide have introduced special policies for OPCs: Shanghai is building a super entrepreneur community, Wuhan in Hubei launched a zero-cost startup plan, and Haidian in Beijing focuses on hard tech and computing power support. These measures greatly reduce individual entrepreneurial barriers, making “one person a team” a reality.

Now, the “DIY economy” is gradually shifting from niche hobby to mass entrepreneurship. However, behind everyone’s ability to innovate lies potential risks related to quality, safety, and compliance.

Some entrepreneurs sell “DIY” products without relevant manufacturing qualifications, which have not undergone industrial testing or certification—illegal and unsafe. Additionally, the uneven quality of “DIY” products often leads to consumer disputes and creative plagiarism. With AI assistance and especially the application of “intelligent agents,” new issues like data leaks and unclear boundaries have emerged, posing significant challenges for “one-person companies.”

Zhao Xiaoguang, a researcher at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated that relevant authorities should introduce specific management measures for the diverse forms of the “DIY” economy, clarifying product definitions, classifications, and regulatory boundaries. They should also strengthen compliance guidance for entrepreneurs, ensuring that “DIY” innovation is regulated and safe, achieving a win-win situation for creativity, safety, compliance, and development.

On the other hand, regulators need to improve laws and regulations, strengthen coordinated supervision, guide the industry, and protect rights and interests. They should develop compliance guidelines suitable for “one-person companies,” encouraging entrepreneurs to enjoy the benefits of low barriers while maintaining quality and safety standards, so that the “DIY” economy can truly “craft” a new engine of high-quality economic growth.