Hikvision (Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese technology company founded in 2001 and headquartered in Hangzhou. It is a leading global supplier of video surveillance products and solutions, with business spanning over 150 countries. Hikvision focuses on integrating video-based sensing, AI, and big data technologies to support various industries through intelligent IoT applications. Its offerings include security cameras, AI-powered surveillance systems, intelligent control networks, smart city platforms, digital signage, face recognition terminals, and comprehensive AI development platforms. The company has over 58,000 employees worldwide, including more than 20,000 in R&D and technical services. Hikvision promotes an ecosystem of open collaboration through its AI Cloud and Open AI platforms, enabling customized industry solutions for smart transportation, smart communities, digital villages, and more. Despite international scrutiny and sanctions in some regions over security and data concerns, Hikvision continues to expand its digital transformation capabilities globally.
Lawaken, operated by Hangzhou Lawaken Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese AR technology and AI digital human company founded by Ru Yi. Its flagship character, also named Li Weike, is a virtual digital human designed with a strong emphasis on emotional connection, gender inclusivity, and futuristic identity. The name “Lawaken” is a play on “Lady Awaken” or “Let’s Always WAKE the Next,” symbolizing female empowerment and forward-looking innovation. The company develops AI-driven AR glasses and immersive applications, combining proprietary large language models with voice interaction and facial animation to power human-like digital companions. Unlike most male-led virtual human teams, Lawaken emphasizes a female-led vision and focuses on emotionally resonant digital personalities. It has received early investments from ByteDance and aims to redefine digital companionship in AR environments.
Hangzhou Melot Technology (Group) Co., Ltd., also known as Melot Group, is a Chinese technology service company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Hangzhou. It specializes in live streaming and interactive media technology, with a core mission of “connecting a better life through video.” The company operates the KK Live platform, one of China’s early mobile-based interactive entertainment livestreaming platforms. It has expanded internationally with offices in cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Jakarta. The group also engages in social responsibility initiatives, digital education (under the MILE Education brand), and virtual human technology, including projects like AI virtual hosts.
Yowant, founded in November 2010 in Hangzhou and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2018 (stock code: 002291), is a tech-driven new consumer services platform specializing in livestream e-commerce. It operates across major platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, Taobao, and WeChat Video Channels, and claims to own the largest collection of celebrity IPs in China. The company integrates digital marketing, advertising, e-commerce, and influencer operations, and is recognized as a leading MCN (multi-channel network) in China's livestream economy.
Hefei Chengling Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (clmicro.com) is a high-tech company recognized as the only domestic enterprise able to deliver microelectronic solutions meeting advanced standards such as 5kVrms isolation voltage, and it is expanding its technology into the field of digital humans. The company operates within the “Hefei Model” of innovation, leveraging the University of Science and Technology Valley to connect Hefei-based research with Yangtze River Delta manufacturing and nationwide commercialization. Its development strategy includes advancing emotional digital humans and gradually introducing them into education, elderly care, and other public service sectors. It has also completed multimillion-yuan angel-round financing and positions itself as a leader in combining microelectronics expertise with applications in digital human interaction and AI-driven services.
Hefei Twinsverse Technology Co., Ltd. (luanshengyuzhou.com) is a Chinese company specializing in virtual digital human technologies. It has developed products for finance, law, education, and public safety, and was awarded for its enterprise-grade virtual human engine at the Jiangsu Digital Human Innovation Competition. The company recently established a strategic cooperation with Jiangsu Cable's Nanjing division to launch a Digital Human Live Broadcast Application Lab. It also received significant Series B investment from Hefei Gaotou, signaling investor confidence in virtual human markets. Led by co-founder Wang Zimiao, a graduate of Anhui University, the firm provides solutions such as 3D/2D livestreaming avatars and AI-generated digital humans, including full interaction systems. Twinsverse focuses on reducing deployment costs of AI + Metaverse applications and enhancing realism in digital human interfaces.
Huace Film & TV (huacemedia.com, SZ300133) is one of China’s leading film and television companies and has been actively incorporating AI and digital human technologies into its operations. The company has launched wearable digital collectibles that allow users to build unique 3D avatars, applied virtual digital human technologies in film production such as the movie A Writer’s Odyssey, and created business units dedicated to metaverse and AIGC (AI-generated content). It established an AIGC Research Institute in 2023 with an initial 500 million RMB fund to drive innovation in digital humans, AI-assisted scriptwriting, face and voice replacement, virtual production, trailers, special effects, and AI-generated posters. Huace has also partnered with companies such as Baidu and Migu to integrate large language models like Wenxin Yiyan (ERNIE Bot) into its workflows. Its initiatives span from building virtual idols and interactive fan engagement through digital humans to developing copyright-based digital assets for commercialization.
Huace Media (Zhejiang Huace Film & TV Co., Ltd.) established the AIGC Research Institute in June 2023 with a 500 million RMB special fund to embed generative AI across its film and TV operations. Led by President Fu Binxing, the institute is structured around system development, creative empowerment, application promotion, and cooperation, and focuses on building three specialized AI models for text, image/text, and 3D assets. These models support workflows from script evaluation and screenwriting assistance to virtual production, asset generation, and post-production marketing, including fan engagement via digital humans. By 2024, Huace launched in-house models such as “Youfeng” and “Guose,” the latter recognized by China’s National Internet Information Office for compliant generative AI, making Huace one of the first listed film companies to achieve this.
Huatech (Huateng Technology), headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, positions itself as a regional leader in education digitalization and a developer of advanced AI-driven digital human systems. Founded in 2006, the company integrates computer graphics, deep learning, and natural language processing to create its Intelligent Real-Time Digital Human, a platform capable of natural dialogue, emotional simulation, and cross-platform interaction. These digital humans are deployed in higher education and vocational colleges as AI teaching assistants, interactive service avatars, and one-stop student support systems, linking Inner Mongolia’s academic ecosystem with cutting-edge avatar technologies. By embedding digital humans into its broader digital service platforms—covering research management, talent training, and intelligent Q&A—Huatech exemplifies how Inner Mongolia is contributing to China’s digital transformation, applying frontier AI and multimodal fusion to make highly realistic avatars a practical part of education and institutional services.
Huawei has developed a comprehensive digital human ecosystem through its MetaStudio platform, which offers 2D and 3D virtual humans for use in industries such as government, healthcare, finance, education, and media. These digital humans are driven by Huawei’s in-house PanGu large model and MetaEngine graphics engine, supporting real-time lip-syncing, AI gaze correction, emotional expressions, and multi-language capabilities. Huawei’s digital humans are used for tasks such as AI broadcasting, customer service, public policy communication, and live streaming, and are integrated into its AICC intelligent contact centers. Huawei has also implemented digital humans in events like live sign language broadcasts, and provides low-cost deployment options (such as the Flexus service) to support SMEs. The company has filed patents related to digital human generation and continues to promote real-time interaction, low-latency response, and privacy compliance.
Huawei Connect is Huawei’s annual flagship conference that focuses on information and communications technology (ICT) and digital transformation. It brings together industry leaders, technology experts, partners, and customers to showcase Huawei’s latest innovations, outline strategic directions, and discuss trends in areas such as cloud computing, 5G, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and industry-specific digital solutions. The event typically includes keynote speeches, product launches, technical forums, partner exhibitions, and live demonstrations, serving as both a networking platform and a venue for announcing Huawei’s new technologies and business strategies.
Huawei Cloud has developed an extensive digital human ecosystem centered around its MetaStudio platform. This system leverages proprietary technologies including the MetaEngine graphics engine and Ascend AI cloud servers to support the rapid creation and deployment of 2D and 3D virtual humans. The platform offers services such as virtual human video production, livestreaming, and AI-driven animation. Huawei's digital human solutions are used across sectors including healthcare (e.g., medical education avatars), public services (e.g., government-facing AI agents), and enterprise marketing (e.g., livestream sales avatars). The PanGu digital brain powers intelligent interaction, enabling realistic speech, expressions, and multi-language capabilities. Flexus, another Huawei Cloud offering, provides SMEs with low-cost, customizable digital human tools. Huawei has filed patents related to automated avatar-image-to-audio synchronization and is continuing to enhance multimodal AI integration in its cloud ecosystem to expand the role of digital humans in smart industries.