Introduction
Cai Wensheng, founder of Meitu and renowned angel investor, has recently been appointed by the Hong Kong SAR government as a member of the "Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development." This marks another milestone in his decades-long career of capitalizing on emerging tech trends—from domain trading in the 2000s to today’s AI revolution.
Chapter 1: Domain King – From Humble Beginnings to Tech Mogul
Early Struggles
- Dropped out of high school at 15 to sell calculators (buying for ¥8, selling for ¥10) and bootleg music tapes
- Earned his "first bucket of gold" by trading stocks during the 2000 dot-com bubble
Domain Empire
| Strategy | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Registered 1,000+ domains during 2000 crash | Initial failure losing all capital |
| Developed proprietary抢注 system (2001-2003) | Sold domains like iqiyi.com/tudou.com for millions |
| Built 256.com navigation site | Sold to Google for $100M in 2007 |
Key Lesson: "Speed conquers all" in tech speculation.
Chapter 2: Meitu’s Meteoric Rise (2008-2016)
Product Strategy
👉 How beauty apps conquered China
- Launched MeituPic in 2008 targeting female users
- Expanded to smartphones (2013) and短视频 with Meipai (2014)
Marketing Genius
- Leveraged微博's viral potential with滤镜 campaigns
- Achieved "screenshot dominance" on App Store
Revenue Model:
- Hardware (92% of 2016 income)
- Ads
- VIP subscriptions
Chapter 3: Crypto Gambles and AI Pivot
Web3 Ventures
- $40M crypto investment (2021) initially lost ¥111.9M
- Recovered ¥571M profit after 2024 market surge
AI Transformation
2023 Product Suite:
- AI视觉工具WHEE
- Digital human generator DreamAvatar
- E-commerce image creator (104M images generated)
Financial Turnaround:
2023 net profit ¥378M (+301% YoY)
Investment Philosophy
Core Principles
- Identify arbitrage windows (e.g., early域名/抖音 clones)
- Fail fast - exited手机业务 before total collapse
- Cash out timely - ¥1.6B in stock sales since 2016 IPO
Controversy: Critics call him a "profit-first speculator" for moves like offloading Bitcoin holdings at peak prices.
FAQs
Q: How did Cai spot trends so early?
A: By monitoring硅谷/北京 tech circles daily since 2000s.
Q: Why does Meitu struggle with retention?
A: Tools ≠ Social - Users open app 3x/month vs.抖音's 30x.
Q: Web3 or AI - bigger opportunity?
A: Cai bets on AI for B2B SaaS,但 still holds Web3 assets.
Conclusion
From摆地摊 to billion-dollar IPO, Cai’s journey epitomizes China’s tech gold rush. His true genius? 👉 Knowing when to hold and fold—a skill that’s kept him relevant across four industrial revolutions.